eight of fifty-two // the voice

saturday mornin I set an alarm for 3:57am and almost cried. when I finally got up around 4 something I was still pretty grumpy. my dear friend Christy picked me up and we drove to baltimore. 

up until 7am, I was not a happy camper. "what a waste of time. and sleep. this is ridiculous. why do we even do this? it's just going to be humiliating. there's no point." 

then we started walking to the end of the line. the sun started to come up over the skyline. the people-watcher in me was super pumped, walking by all the personalities expressing themselves in one way or another. a kid with a guitar started "warming up" with "I'm Yours" by jason mraz and a bunch of us joined in. the girl in front of me (Brianna) gave me a couple cough drops. thanks, Brianna. 

while standing in 5 different lines for 3-4 hours, I made a few new friends, belted a couple worship songs at the top of my lungs with those new friends, nailed my audition, didn't get a callback. 

 

Christy and I walked around the inner harbor of baltimore, happily indulged in cheesecake and short naps. we holed up in a coffee shop to wait out a torrential downpour (and praised God that we weren't still standing in line outside), grabbed burgers, and headed home. 

so in retrospect, when people ask me how it went, I have two thoughts.

am I pumped that I didn't get a callback? nopedy nope nope. even though the odds were something like 1 in 43, even going in with low expectations. because now when people say I should try out for the voice, I can't say "oh I never had the chance." the pessimist in me will respond, "oh yeah I did but I wasn't good enough." is that accurate? basically. but is it the perspective I should have? probably not. I already struggle with what God is going to do or not do with my love of singing and music, so this kind of feels like another nail in the coffin of my dreams (that I may not actually believe in anyways?). but me and God are gonna keep working through that.

BUT. am I glad I did it? absolutely. I love adventure. I love exploring. I love meeting new people. I love singing with other people. I LOVE shamelessly worshiping God with other people who love Him in front of people who probably don't know Him. I love conquering fears and checking things off my bucket list. I even got homework done. it was a fantastic saturday. 

seven of fifty-two // everything is different, nothing has changed

a year ago today, I took this photo. 

I was working three+ jobs, taking classes, trying to get to the gym, have meaningful relationships, spend time with my family, spend time with God... 

I remember it was too much but it would take me too long to admit it. I remember I struggled feeling like there was a point to all my running around, asking "Is it worth it?" trying to prioritize and still falling short. it was never enough.

today, I'm working a couple jobs, taking more classes than I would prefer, trying to have meaningful relationships, learn a ton about loving God, myself and others, get back in shape, prepare for a quickly-approaching leap into the unknown future, get into God's Word...

most days it feels like too much but I never want to admit it. sometimes I wonder if there is a point to everything I try to accomplish. pretty much every day I wonder if I will ever be enough.

everything is different but it seems like not much has changed. 

last night a quote in one of my classes hit me like a brick. like a heavy weight brick at full speed. 

"I will never be enough because I was made to need the Son of God."

oh. 

"once we have settled in our hearts that we will never be enough, we can focus our eyes on the glory of God. with Him, we are absolutely enough."

...okay. well that changes things. 

I don't know what that looks like practically at the moment, but you can bet I am going to figure it out and get back to you. 

six of fifty-two // Your love >>>

hey God.

sorry I've been so moody.

thanks for dealing with me and my sad spells.

sorry for not believing that You'll stick around and love me in the midst of it.

that probably makes You sad.

all the love I know, and all the love that I give, is broken.

so forgive me for expecting Yours to be.

Your love is perfect. Your love leaves no room for fear.

please help me to get that into my thick head and hard heart.

thank You that the faithfulness and fullness of Your love is not dependent on my understanding of it.

please fill me with Your Spirit so that when I love others, 

they see not my incomplete love, but Your completely whole love.

I love you. broken-ly. thanks for accepting me this way.

in my sweet Jesus' name, Amen.

five of fifty-two // unprocessed

one of those moments that just slip 

but you feel it from your heart to your fingertips

me: "Should I write about peace or appreciating the moment?"

Emilee: "appreciating the moment." 

me: "but that one hurts and isn't finished processing." 

Emilee: "that's when it's best." 

okay, okay. 

brutally honestly? 

there is so much love in my heart for so many people (and places) 

that I have learned from. laughed with. listened to. 

and then they leave. 

or I leave.

sometimes (most times?) it makes me think twice before loving again because losing is the worst. literally the worst. 

especially when you know the goodbye is coming. 

I want to skip straight to the goodbye or forget that hello happened to try and ease the torture of the process.

but "it's a fact of life"

part of the process

a step in the journey 

a fork in the road

all that jazz. 

none of that has hit me yet, at least not enough to make it feel better. 

but I do know this, I've never regretted the loving. 

just the passing of the moment. 

so here's to loving and losing

risk and reward

breathing and beauty

and ultimately not running from wonderful things or being miserable because they end

but somehow, letting go in the midst of them so that joy sinks in to full capacity.

four of fifty-two // nope.

I confidently say yes to any hard task that I can accomplish by gritting my teeth; because I assume that if for some reason I was left to my own devices, I could muster up what I need to conquer. 

now, You ask me to wholeheartedly step into a battle I know my best efforts will lose. my strength and endurance will run out long before the finish line. they already have.

so this is being stretched. not being pushed TO your limits. PAST your limits. now I get it.
self sufficiency down the drain.

first reaction?

NOPE. 

this time, I do not find rest by trying harder and succeeding. my only relief is in admitting that I am unequal to the mountain in front of me and deliberately choosing to surrender myself to leaning on His strong arms to literally carry me through. I am not sure I even know what that looks like half the time, but I am sure that I am about to find out.

peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. 
(john 14:27)

three of fifty-two // well. that was unexpected.

oh hey semester. was not expecting you to dump that much that quickly.

if I realized anything this first week, it is that I am going to learn more than I can wrap my head around by the end of this semester. that realization is exciting (hopefully). it is also intimidating (like terrifying).

the workload is heavy, but the work itself is going to challenge me in how I love God and how I love others for the rest of my life. 

being challenged is hard. hard things make you grow.

hard things also make me want to curl up under a blanket and tell them to come back tomorrow. 

but then I read this.

"Be not afraid of their faces; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." 

(Jeremiah 1:8)

I still like curling up in blankets but I am going to be leaning moment by moment on the reminder that He is greater, He is with me, He will deliver. 

(photo credit to my bro

please send snow)

two of fifty-two: greater

g r e a t e r

there are a thousand and one reasons I love alaska. 

one of those reasons my mom pointed out to me the other day (thanks mom) is its vastness.* at any moment in time you are probably fifteen minutes away from views that stretch as far as your eye can see. the land is so much greater than you are; it inspires and humbles at the same time.

I do not usually pick a theme/verse/motto at the beginning of the year. too much changes in twelve months for it to stay applicable, or so I thought. but when I stopped the world and got away to talk to Him, the song "greater is He" by blanca came on my shuffle and my heart grabbed onto it so quickly it seemed I had no choice. 

1 John 4:4

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

He is greater. greater than my fears. greater than my past. greater than my class schedule. greater than my finances. greater than my exhaustion. greater than my impatience. greater than my limited sight. greater than my little faith. 

you name it. He is greater than ____.

so whether this is my theme for the year or just this coming semester, I am clinging to it. because sometimes when I look life in the face it seems like it is greater than me, and sometimes it is. 

but it is never greater than God. and He is in me.

He is so much greater than life or me; that truth inspires and humbles without fail.

*vastness: I looked it up, its an actual word.