This Classical Life

Everyone’s back to school. Michael’s searching for summer work for 2010. Lexi started ballet. I’m driving from Southside to Woodlawn or Crestwood (and back) 3x a day, fighting the UAB students for parking, and, of course, running a business.

It’s all just the same. The grind. Different grind, but the grind all the same.

In tweaking some godly play lessons for our church, I worked on one lesson about the church calendar. The original version talks about how time will cycle on and on, forever and ever. I made an addition of “until one day, when Jesus returns and everything is made new. Our circle will be broken with the new time of the new heavens and the new earth.” This concept of new time was not one I had ever thought of, but I am starting to long for that part of eternity, too.

Whatever this season is in the life of our family, it isn’t one of blogging. It is busy. So busy, I smocked dresses this spring and finished them a week before Easter morning but haven’t carved the time to construct them. I said that I’d do it before Eastertide passed, but it has. Work has consumed a lot of my time and Michael’s as well. His 1L year is done and I’m proud of how well he did. This summer he’s working hard doing lawyerly things and I think he’s going to be a great attorney someday.

Now that the girls are out of school, I wish that I had a little less to do so we could spend more time at the library, pool, etc. but we’re making it around to such things regularly, which is better than not at all. They did just finish a week at backyard ballet camp and you can view a precious video of their recital on facebook. When Kate was born, I daydreamed about when she would be five and I could dress her up in her jumper as “kindergarten Kate.” That day is right around the corner, with her birthday next week and the uniforms needing to be bought. It’s a strange feeling to watch someone grow up before your eyes. Whomever said the days are long, but the years are short is full of great wisdom.

Every year I see more and more my need for community, probably because we’ve never lived in the same city as our families or lots of people we’ve known forever. And little by little, community grows, even when I feel like I have so little to offer my family let alone those beyond it. It’s a beautiful thing. We sang this hymn on Sunday, that talks about the windows of God’s grace where we see the Lord, and to me, that’s often through kindness, empathy and encouragement. The manifestations of community are the goodness of God to me in a very real way. Anyhow, every time I hear this hymn, it sticks with me, so I’ll share it with you, kind reader, until I post again (sooner or later.)

I love the windows of thy grace,
Through which my Lord is seen,
And long to meet my Savior’s face
Without a glass between.

Oh that the happy hour come
To change my faith to sight!
I shall behold my Lord at home
In a diviner light.

Haste, my Beloved, and remove
These interposing days;
Then shall my passions all be love,
And all my powers be praise.
–Isaac Watts
(more info, sample, CD, etc. found here)