(I wrote this on July 2nd, after Ma and I biked around Mackinac Island. Posting it now because life is life and I need to remind myself that these things are true.)
God knows what you need.
You know what you want. God knows what you want. But sometimes God is the only one of you who knows what you truly need.
God knew that I was made to travel, that I needed to go somewhere this year or else I'd suffocate. He knew that I wanted to get away. But He also knew that I needed to slow down and take a more low-key approach to travelling for a change, and that I needed to develop some level of appreciation for my home state instead of only grousing about how much I want to escape from it.
I went from having no travel plans this year to taking two trips within a month of each other. He made a way for me to go to Grand Haven, a place I'd barely heard of and never thought of visiting. He knew that I needed to swim in Lake Michigan, to reconnect with my love for swimming and the peace that water gives. To wear a bathing suit again and be reminded that my body is just a body, and though it may not be ideal, it works just fine.
And then He made a way for me to go to Mackinac Island with Ma, a place that I'd figured would be unremarkable but has proven to be anything but. He knew I needed to experience and learn all that I did in Grand Haven, otherwise I would've walked around Mackinac Island listening to the waves of Lake Huron playing percussion against the shore and been unable to appreciate it. I wouldn't have surveyed the blue of its depths, the clarity of its shallows, the sun reflecting gloriously off of it all, and been able to humble myself enough to marvel, Look at all that the Lord has made. God makes every thing beautiful in its time.
He knew that I needed to walk around the entire island one day and bike around it the next, so I could appreciate how able-bodied I actually am, no matter what scales, mirrors, photographs, or even my own mind tells me. My whole life I've tormented myself for not having the perfect body or perfect soul (shoutout to Radiohead), but hey! I walked and biked the equivalent of a half-marathon this weekend, and that is phenomenal to me! I feel strong. I feel capable. My body is just a body. And it works just fine.
God knew that I needed to learn these lessons this weekend and He made it so.
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