how glad it makes me to read your thoughts and know about your summer activities! already i know that this blog is going to be such an encouragement all summer long. thank you for being willing to take part. words cannot express how grateful my hea
rt is for each of you.
my goodness, i have not even been home a whole week and alr
eady my heart is bursting with gladness. this summer has begun on the best of notes and i am so so excited to see what God has in store for the rest of it. as n
ina said, we left Gordon sunday night and drove into the morning (bad idea? probably. is God gracious? yes.) to reach my house to sleep quickly before heading to philly. leaving gordon made me a lot more sad than i anticipated; it really was such a magnificent year and i feel so undeservingly blessed for all that took place.
anyway. it was such a blessing sharing the first few days of summer with nina and philly truly was a grand adventure. it was such a joy walking around, exploring, riding the subway, taking in the sights, sounds, smells... etc. the sun came out and t
he heat made it feel like summer which was an extra bonus. seeing my childhood hannah friend was also a delight and i am so thankful that i was able to see her in her new life that she now lives and it was such a joy to meet her house mates. man oh man, God is so good.
yes, we picked strawberries and spent time in hannah's new r
oom - i marveled at the slow pace of summer, the freedom from responsibility, the richness of friendship and how good company surpasses most everything.
after nina left on wednesday evening i went to play a game of whiffle ball with my friend matt. (who... i think most all of you met. haha hurray!) he told me he was playing with some of his friends that i had never met, but not being able to say no to a
summer evening game of whiffle ball, i went anyway. thankfully ellie came too and when
we pulled up to the grassy field approximately twenty people were playing! haha! i knew two. it was such a wonderful night. i tried to learn as many names as i could but it was tricky. everyone was so fun and full of laughter. whiffle ball cracks me up every time; i like that game. i was so thankful that matt invited me even though i did not know anyone, honestly it was such a perfect summer night. afterwards ellie came over and we ate pizza together. she sat on my counter while i made cookies and we talked about our semesters. perfection.
thursday i spent most of the day unpacking and setting up
my room. i know that feeling that hannah is describing, that
odd feeling of seeing all of your Gordon things in a new place, on different walls in different room - strange, and yet comforting somehow. i decided to fully move back into my room instead of living out of bags and boxes which is basically what i did last summer. (typically i hate unpacking.) it's nice feeling like my room is a place where i live again, instead of a place where i just visit.
in the late afternoon i did some weed whacking and then set out to bouncefunplex! after quickly picking up hannah we drove to matt's house and all piled into his 15 passenger van, haha! i sat in the very back "trunk" area (because only two rows of
seats were in use.) and watched a magnificent summer storm as we drove. bouncefunplex never fails. we were the only ones there last night so ten of us had the whole place to ourselves, marvelous. the group of people that went was a funny combination of friends both new and old - which always makes for a good time. (today i am sore.)
bouncefunplex, whiffle ball, strawberries, nina, hannah, family, warm weather, slow mornings, reading Wendell Berry, ... my heart is overflowing with gratitude. i'm doing my best to soak up every moment, to cherish the people here, to listen well and
learn and know people intimately. i'm trying to make time to read and write and think and pray, to be outside. i'm trying to be grateful and present. i want to use my time well, to learn to say no to things and rest... yes.
if you think of it, pray that i would love better, that i would learn to love the people in my life well - that i would carry over what i have learned this year and let it continue to change me and shape me. pray that i would have an ear tuned to God's voice, a mind thirsty for him, and a heart open to the world. pray that i would use my time well.
speaking of time, i need to go finish some lawn mowing and weed whacking soon. tonight i am going to matt's show - i have never really seen his band play before so i am looking forward to that. tomorrow i think my dad and i are planting the garden, hurray!
i love you all so dearly and think of you often.
may your today be filled with joy unspeakable and beauty untold.
with a heart so full,
ashley
post script://
2 things about this photo:
1. this morning i remembered that just because you don't like jeans doesn't mean you have to throw them away. so i pulled this faded pair out of the trash this morning and turned them into cut-offs. helloooooooo summer!
2. sarah, this is the home of your painting. it's in my favorite room in the house and i love it.
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