Just take this in

It's been over a week since I've blogged! How could I have taken so long to get back? Well, I have had one of the best weeks of the whole summer this past one. Whitney Bentch came to visit, and I must say, it was awesome. She refused to leave the little twerp. She changed her flight friday night from Saturday morning to Monday morning. Or so we thought. We got to the airport at about 7 am... we woke up around 5 am Monday.... all to find as we were unloading the car, that it was indeed for 8:08 PM and not AM... and so we drove back and enjoyed another glorious and exhausted day in Jersey. It was a great time, and it made me all the more excited to get back to Gville.

I leave in only 8 days! I can hardly believe such a statement... but it's true. I leave on Thursday. A week from tomorrow. I have no complaints. God is so good, and I'm crazy excited about the things He's done in and around me this summer, and what He's yet to do in this next part of my life. My last year of College. What?! Hah... I'm pretty used to the idea now, so I should stop with the "?!"... maybe:)

This week, I've gotten to meet with a few friends I hadn't seen for a while. One of them I met with last night. We grew up together since we were probably 5 or so. She got married almost a year ago, and I was at school. It was awesome to get to hang with her for a while. And another good friend of mine, I met with today. Why does it always seem to be right before I'm about to leave again I remember all the people I love being with? So typical Shaina, so typical.

Anyway, I met with Kristi today, and oh my goodness she's having a baby! I heard back in March, and I could not express my excitement for her and Jason. We talked about her adorable baby belly, and all the things that have transpired in the last year of our lives. It was great.

One of the things we talked about a lot today was relationships. We probably annoyed the old man sitting close by us... I would have hated us if I weren't one of us. Our silly woman words, and laughter, and a lot of phrases that may or may not have been in the "TMI" category... Anyway, we talked about how God is basically just crafty. We discussed previous relationships and broken hearts. I also promised her I'd have a baby, and make sure it'd be at the same time she has one so they can be best friends.

We're both at pretty different stages of life right now. I'm going back to school to finish my Bachelor's, and she's married and pregnant with her first baby boy. But we still came to the conclusion that God is so good when it comes to our hearts. He is one to tell us, "Relax, and just take this in," when we get scared of losing something we want. He's one to say, "Enjoy the view," rather than letting us try to keep up with a race car on two feet. How often do we do this? We think we're all every man for himself. We think we're supposed to have a motor when we're only human. We're not machine. We try to operate like one though sometimes.

The right relationship is not one that leaves you feeling like less than what you started with. It's not one that makes you cry when you think about it, or one that makes you try to distract yourself with other things. It's not something that you have to talk up to yourself so you feel alright. It's not something you have to question.

The right relationship should be one that makes you better than you were when you started. One that makes you think, "how can this even be real?!" when you think about it. It should be one that you want to think about all the time, because it makes everything else in life somehow just better. It's something you know is good, and everyone else around you knows too. You don't have to make excuses. It's something you know. Hands down.

Kristi and I decided that the right relationship is like riding a magic carpet. Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie, so I saw this as a worthy description. The right relationship is one you have to do nothing about. It just is. You don't have to rework your life for someone, because he's already walking the same way you are. You don't have to try to make the person fall in love with you... and you don't have to try to fall in love with him. I remember watching Kristi and Jason. It was adorable, and so incredible. A love story that was beautiful, and still is. Anyway, manipulation is not part of the right relationship. When it's at the right time, and with the right person... you can just relax. And ride. Like the whole thing is a magic caret ride. A whole new world. Don't you dare close your eyes. And how could you at a time like that?

Anyway, this evening is well. Life is so good.