Glennon Doyle Melton wrote a fantastic essay called, "Don't Carpe Diem" that caught like fire a few years ago. The idea is that people were always telling her to carpe diem and savor every single moment of being a parent but she felt like she wanted to pull her hair our most of the time. This idea of seizing the whole day was making her feel guilty and like a failure who couldn't mother perfectly. But she realized that she could seize a couple moments during the day. A couple moments when time stood still and she witnessed something really beautiful or really kind. Instead of seizing the whole day, she was going to aim for just a couple moments.
I love that.
I can't Carpe Diem successfully either but I can seize a couple moments. That's feasible. And those moments? When I spot them, they're pretty golden.
After school today I got to have a fiesta with Katy, Hope and Grace with chips and salsa and Shauna Niequist and Top 10 Lists. Sitting with those girls was one of the best moments today.
Another moment I loved today was when I dropped off Hope at home and I went inside to get some friendship bracelet tutoring from Cecilia. She was finishing up her English homework so I read the last couple pages of Fahrenheit 451 while she figured out how to continue my double earthquake. It was a role reversal and really great.
Near the end of Wyld Life leadership Emily, Grace and Sydney showed up with Cupcakes-In-A-Cone for Kraig and I. Oh my goodness. It took me right back to Kindergarten birthday parties. Love their thoughtfulness.
It was a bold move to start Campaigner's for Wyld Life this year and I'm so thankful that KCraig made it happen. Gathering like this to go deeper together is so sweet. We take over Mama Bears and fill every open space in the room with hyperactive 11, 12 and 13-year-olds plus our HS and adult Wyld Life leaders.
I'm sure it's easy to believe that being a Wyld Life leader is a whole lot more fun than being a teacher even if they're both for the exact same kids. At Wyld Life there's no homework to collect, no emails to respond to, and it doesn't really matter if you're talking to your neighbor or you don't want to sit in your seat. But more than just being more fun, I love being a Wyld Life leader because I get to share life with these girls.
It was my youth pastor and dozens of counselors at Tecumseh that invested in my life and pointed me back to Christ. That's what I want to do with these girls. For girls like Julia and Sydney, for Emily and Grace, for Sarah and Cecilia-- I want to be one of the people in their life that wants to know their story and shows them why God wants to be part of it. It's an honor and a privilege to get to do this.
Singing "Keep Your Eyes Open" with our whole crew was one of my golden moments. There's such truth in the lyrics, "We all have a place here, what if we were made for this, oh we got to keep our eyes open." I'm thankful that Blaire is willing to show up and play guitar for us even when she doesn't feel completely confident.
We talked about friendship in small groups tonight, about the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus dying and then being risen from the grave. There were golden moments in our circle as the girls talked about how they've been hurt by friends and the kind of friends they want to have. My hope is that they would be courageous enough to choose friends that will help them to live with integrity, friends that will help them live life to the full, friends that are loyal and that they would be that kind of friend too.
Instead of trying to Carpe Diem today, try to keep your eyes open to seize a couple moments. That's all you need.
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