Specs Of A Medic

My Sweet Medic @ Pala

The man that my God has created to be my soul mate, my better half, my husband, is a man of noble character and has a heart of gold. His life long career goal: to serve others and change lives. I'm so proud of you Micah. 6 more weeks...

When God made paramedics, He was into His sixth day of overtime.
An angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
God said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

A Paramedic has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet, grassy hill in the dark,
dodge stray bullets to reach a dying child unarmed,
enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch,
and not wrinkle his uniform."

"He has to be able to lift three times his own weight.
Crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move,
and console a grieving mother as
he is doing CPR on a baby he knows will never breathe again."

"He has to be in top mental condition at all times,
running on no sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals,
and he has to have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God replied.
"It's the three pairs of eyes a medic has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

God nodded. "One pair that sees open sores as he's drawing blood,
always wondering if the patient is HIV positive."
(When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job)

"Another pair here in the side of his head for his partner's safety.
And another pair of eyes here in front
that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say,
"You'll be alright ma'am when he knows it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching His sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't," God replied.
"I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound
drunk out from behind a steering wheel
without incident and feed a family of five on a private service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the Paramedic very slowly.
"Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet", God said.
"It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses;
recite drug calculations in it's sleep;
intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue CPR
nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear...
and it still keeps it's sense of humor."

"This medic also has phenomenal personal control.
He can deal with a multi-victim trauma,
coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door,
comfort a murder victim's family,
and then read in the daily paper how Paramedics were
unable to locate a house quickly enough,
allowing the person to die.
A house that had no street sign, no house numbers, no phone to call back."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Paramedic.

"There's a leak," she pronounced.
"I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model."
"That's not a leak," God replied, "It's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled up emotions,
for patients they've tried in vain to save,
for commitment to that hope
that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for life."
"You're a genius!" said the angel.

God looked somber.

"I DIDN'T PUT IT THERE" He said.

Without Love, We Are Not

Prior to saying "I do" on April 30th, 2011, Honorary (Uncle) Sig read 1 Corinthians 13 to Micah and I. "...Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong...Love never fails..." True love is absolutely divine. It is beautiful to watch a love so powerful that it may allow for passionate expressions or non-condemning forgiveness.

Love has an abundance of descriptive words that can be used to express its greatness. Love is always accepting. It is appreciating. It is wanting someone to be filled with joy and happiness. God has filled my life with every aspect of it to a point where I cannot comprehend the magnitude of the love that I have been bound in. My life is filled with His blessings.

For Micah, no special occasion is needed nor an excuse made to find a reason to cover me in love. My sweet man worked 48 hours straight but when I arrived home yesterday he pampered me with the classic wine and dine: a delicious syrah paired with an infamous American meal: meat and potatoes. Sirloin and fingerlings are one way to win my heart. I've never met another man so expressive of his feelings. The romantic in him never dies. I strive to express my love for him as deeply has he communicates his for me. I asked him some time ago why he went out of his way so frequently to pamper me. His response I'll never forget, "I don't do these things for anyone except you nor have I ever, but I do because I love you."

Relationships have been put in our lives as opportunities to love others: another one of God's many blessings. We've been given a gift to display His love through our ability to love others. A little glimpse of God's perfect love and unexpected surprises came to me in the form of a precious friend I will always cherish.  It's a love that only true relationships possess. It's full of smiles and happiness. It overflows with warmth and encouragement. It motivates each other to strive for constant growth sometime with hard convicting love. It holds each other accountable for the choices we make and the lives we live. But most importantly our treasured friendship is built from the ground up with a spiritual faith and common relationship with Christ. This is our strongest bond: the love of Christ.
"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:12

With the races through life and jumping to complete task after task it becomes easy to forget the need for unconditional love. We don't want to forget its need yet as humans we sometimes do. As Uncle Sig read 1 Corinthians 13 at our wedding, it reminded me of the effort and hard work needed to display love for others. I have committed with my sweet friend to memorize this passage as a reference and constant reminder to love one another always because without love we are nothing.

Finding The Passion

I have been fighting a lack of passion that has been flowing through my blood for a brief period. I have felt as if my gas tank is on empty and no matter what I accomplish off the endless task list or how I try to pamper myself to find self-contentment, the tank remains bone dry.

I am just a single human trying to accomplish the tasks of many. Sometimes I feel like my list accomplishes nothing even when complete yet I still feel this great desire and need to finish before I move on. My priority should be my God but lately I haven't felt that I have been putting Him first. The enemy uses simple subtleties to distract us from what's important in life. For me, my interferences I allow are as simple as filling up my days with "to-dos." And because I welcome these task, my free time rarely exists.

It has been very difficult for me to grasp the concept of limited control. Even growing up, my pops would comment on my continuous idea that I was always right or that I was in charged. I remember it so clearly, "Ya, I know Lauren, you're always right." or "I am the father. You are the daughter." It  makes me chuckle as I become more mature and realize how little I knew. Dad, you were right! (Bet you never thought you'd hear me say that.) As time matures, I still find myself fighting this mindset. The Lord is good at bringing truth to all circumstances.

My Lord steps in and shows me that today cannot be complete without Him. A few nights ago I meet with a group of beautiful woman each having their own story. Together we joined for a night of worship to fellowship with one another and spend time with our King. His presence filled the room as He made Himself known to many.  He renewed my heart and reminded me of the reasons for life on this world. My soul became refreshed as His Spirit poured on me. I was in need of tending and mending that only He could and can bring.

Still today I struggle with the concept that I am not in control and my whole world won’t fall apart if I don’t get through my lists. I am slowly learning though that there are other priorities in life like my God, my husband, my family and my friends. The to-do items can wait. They will always be there. Instead, I want to live for today and live for my God. I want to spend my time with those I love and completing His work so that when it is time to leave this earth I will have made the most of the days of my life and have no regrets.

What Is Your Definition?

What is your definition of beautiful?

Imagine one of five senses that God has blessed us with has been taken away: sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. How does your definition change?

Sitting at a desk, headphones in, eyes closed, I listen to lyrics by The Ataris and meditate on the question. Life is only as good as the memories we make...I found a map to buried treasure and even if we come home empty handed well still have our stories of battle scars, pirate ships and wounded hearts,broken bones, [and all the best of friendships.]

When I was 16 and I first got my licence I was blasting this song with a few friends. Without paying attention to a green light turning yellow and soon red, I decided to floor it through the intersection. As my mustang gracefully soared through the air and our silence was disturbed by the tires slamming against the pavement,we all looked at each other in awe of the situation.

Pulling up in my truck, hoodie over my head, I looked beyond the picket fence at the moon light reflecting on the crashing waves. A scared little girl, lost and broken with no more answers, there was only one thing left to do. I met with someone whose near and dear to me, a woman full of radiating beauty, a friend that I trust with all my heart. With her I prayed and made a decision to let Christ be the leader of my life.

The sounds of Brother Iz play in the background: somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true. I politely smile because really, I am holding back tears of joy as I walked down the aisle to meet my prince charming. Starring madly and deeply in his eyes, I breakdown, overwhelmed with happiness and blessed feelings that I will be spending the rest of my life with my best friend, my husband.

Beautiful has many definitions. For me its the unforgettable memories created with the people I love deeply and the memories our future still holds. Its the relationship made and nurtured through the years and the characteristics possessed that are beautiful to me. It the ability to take a split second of time and hold it forever as a reminder of this precious life we've been given, a gift from God.
So let me ask you, what does your definition look like?
(I'd be curious to hear from each of you in the comments below)

An Intro Through My Living Windows

We take the simple things of life for granted: an outdoor run in a neighborhood, viewing the sunset on a beautiful afternoon, listening to a Sunrise Easter Service at Ponto Beach. Many people today including myself forget that these are privileges in life. They are not owed to us and we aren't titled to any of it, but God has blessed us with these many opportunities and gifts so that we may live a beautiful life.

I believe the concept of beauty has been blurred and distorted through years of commercialism and materialism. Advertising is the greatest offender; taking a word that represents kindness, care, love and much more, turning it into a something that represents stick-figured woman, wearing heels, and airbrushed in makeup.

True beauty can be unique to each individual holding her meaning. For me, beauty exists in many little packages wrapped by God. I like to think of them as little presents. With our wedding only days away I've become a monster, not a bridezilla but mainly an emotional softy. I can't seem to stop reminiscing about childhood memories while drinking tea and creating a few happy tears. (My sister can't believe that I now cry.) I was having dinner at my parents. We all sat around the table (who does that anymore): my mom, dad, sister and I.  It wasn't until this very moment that I begin to appreciate the youth I once was and the family connection I had. It was different when I was little, like it is for all of us. There were few cares and few worries but these experiences I took for granted. It wasn't until this past weekend that I finally looked back at my childhood and realized how blessed I was and continue to be. Beautiful is a family that has stuck together and created memories we look back on as my sister and I prepare to walk down the white asile. Beautiful are the eye opening lessons the God brings us when we least expect them. This evening He's taught me to slow down because "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That is why we call it the present." (-Babatunde Olatunji)

Through living windows, I invite you to join me on my journey as I search for the meaning of true beauty...