Friday night I hung out with my seven year-old cousin. He might be too old for “babysitting” so we’ll just say I was keeping him company while his parents were gone. ;) Funny thing is, he kept me company, otherwise it would have been another quiet night at my house. I went over to his house so he could watch movies, and I worked on stuff while he did that and also fixed him a pb&j sandwich for dinner. Having someone to fix dinner for was so exciting; I must say that was probably the most fun I have ever had making pb&j! Pretty soon, I heard his little voice say “Lauren, do you wanna play a game with me?” He picked Monopoly which is probably one of my least favorite games, but who cares? I was going to play a game with someone lol! It turned out to be very educational for him (although the learning was cleverly disguised as fun) because he got to practice his reading and arithmetic. It was good for me too, since he enjoyed having me there and I felt like I was making memories. Those are the moments that really matter; I know that I will never regret spending quality time with people. (I discovered that one of my primary love languages is quality time which is why I think living alone has been so hard for me. I do get a lot of quality time with Jesus, though!)
Saturday was a very quiet day at home. I got to sleep in (which makes me happy), and I got a lot accomplished (which makes me happy as well). However, it was one of those very difficult days. I wish I could always be happy with my current circumstances, but there are days when my heart is just not there. I want to be there, but I am afraid I am not consistently walking in contentment. Thankfully, that always nudges me back to Jesus, so He and I get to talk about it a lot! :) It was a very lonely day, but there were two positive things that happened at the end of the day. First of all, my grandpa came over and helped me put up my towels racks and hooks in the bathroom. And then to finish the day, I got to go see a friend from Kansas City who happened to be in my town this weekend! That was probably the highlight of my whole week! Thirty minutes of hang-out time with a friend!
Sunday I visited another church. I found out about this one because my mom had heard that a lady she had known years ago is the wife of the pastor who had started this church, so mom wanted me to go see them. I looked them up online and discovered that the church was affiliated with PCA; I was raised Southern Baptist lol, and have never even been to a Presbyterian church, so I really had no idea what to expect. It was definitely different than what I am used to, but I was so glad I went because of the people I met while there. I introduced myself to the lady my mom knew and talked to her for a little bit, and then she introduced me to a girl my age named Tera. Tera is very sweet and we had a great conversation; she also introduced me to a lot of other people so my brain was working overtime trying to remember all the names. AHHH!! Then she asked me the dreaded question: “So where are you from?” I know that seems like a simple question, but tell me, how would someone who has moved 12 times and lived in 5 different states figure out where they are from? Please don’t ask me that question, people! I don’t have a hometown! So, I told her that I have moved around a lot and named off some of the places in Oklahoma that I have lived. When I mentioned one particular town, she said that she had some really good friends there. She told me their last name and I almost fell out of my chair. After seeing the look on my face she said, “You know them, don’t you?” I was like, “Tera, Emily was my best friend growing up. How do you know them??” I was completely floored. It was so exciting to make that connection. After getting Tera’s number and saying goodbye, I kept pondering this amazing link that we share (oh yeah, we were both at Emily’s wedding last year too!), and God whispered to me
“Lauren, I know exactly where you are. You are not lost or floating around in space somewhere. You are right where I want you and I have plans laid out that you have yet to discover. Enjoy the adventure!” I was so grateful for that “hug” from God. After that fun morning, I took a trip to see my college cousin and hung out with her the rest of the day. We chatted while she worked on an art project (due the following morning), went for more last-minute supplies, grabbed a movie, and exclaimed over it together. It was wonderful.
