the home stretch.

the real home stretch for me is the Brentwood exit on 65 south. after 5 hours in the car and 335 miles on the road, the final 10 minutes in the car i'm just coasting. i know what's ahead. even before i'm there, i feel like i've already made it. ["i'm already there" says the Lonestar lyrics.] my ritual is to put on "O love that will not let me go" (O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee) knowing i am almost to my place of rest.

i'll be there soon. friday? saturday? i haven't decided.

i'm in a home stretch of another sort. one class down, two more to finish. it feels really, really good. i'm almost done with my junior year. it's like the final mile in the half marathon, like one page remaining in a 10 page research paper. the feeling of, i've made it this far, i can manage a bit more, muster up a bit more strength.

i emailed my mom some pictures from may. may has been a very good month. one of the most challenging/humbling/painful but most fulfilling. odd pair, but it works. life's paradox - you know, how the hard decisions and the right ones are often the same. not always. in this season of my life, yes.

THANKFULLY, as beth moore points out, "God did not allow his people to be oppressed so that they would be defeated but so they would ultimately be victorious...victory always begins with a cry for help. when we come to the end of ourselves and cry out, amazing things happen."

when we come to the end of ourselves.

i end this academic year at the end of myself. and i don't say that with bitterness or regret, just fact. this season, this chapter is coming to a close, and i can't reach home (plate) while keeping my foot on third. i'm leaving third and going home.

but not yet.