The Land Before Time

.:. Let me set a little scene for you.:.

-Its 7:52 am on a Tuesday morning in June. The sky is overcast, the air has a light mist dancing its way hither and thither and a light breeze carries the scent of fresh, green earth right to my nose. I’m sitting on my porch this morning drinking my tea (big surprise) and eating Fig Newtons (big surprise #2); past the railing and through the lawn a bit is a really lovely garden that my family and I have planted this Spring. I see the three types of lettuce crips and green all in rows, I see the beans popping up their heart shaped leaves and the carrots with there lacey, whispy stems getting larger and larger as the days go by. In the Crab Apple tree to my left, I see it full with leaves and more excitingly, a Robin’s nest with her little birds chirping for food. Past the Crab Apple tree I glance at the pond with its dead tree half submerged and the green algey gracing the surface. Instead of finding that ugly, it makes me smile because this pond has been left to exist naturally, the way God intended it to be. The fish and insects are fed by the agley and the turtles sun themselves on the dead tree branches next to the Heron who’s taking his morning nap. Sometimes, things like that. looking for the positive purpose in a rugged scenario,  are a reminder for me to not judge people or situations based on the surface value. Digging a little deeper, finding out the whole story and giving the people room to be themselves generally give me a glance into a much lighter, more hopeful place. …Maybe that’s a bit to much insight for the morning time…

-It’s been an uncommonly busy week and a half for my family and I and I can’t count the amount of times that I’ve said, “I’m exhausted”. But, being exhausted or overwhelmed by so many people in town and at my house, has been absoultly worth it. I’ve been priviledged to listen to two of my cousins stories. Stories about heart ache, growth and living outside the main stream status quo lifestyle. Laying on a blanket in the sun talking about relationships past and relationships that have left a mark, talking about how much hope lies ahead for the broken hearted even when they only see what lies right in front of them; sitting on the porch comparing tattoo’s and talking about the pains of Freedom but the lifelong desire to embrace that very thing. If there is one thing I’m reminded of daily it’s this: no matter how ‘undiscovered’ being a Listener makes me feel sometimes, it will always be worth it when I walk away seeing that I was just entrusted with a personal piece of someones thoughts, emotions and story. That’s something I wouldn’t trade for anything.

-kvandeway