How I became a Boston Red Sox fan

How does a Yankee fan become a Boston Red Sox Fan? Well, this is my story. I grew up in upstate New York. My family are Yankee fans. A number of years ago, my brother Jonathan gave me a Yankees hat which I quickly fell in love with and wore all the time. While living in Virginia I claimed to be a Yankees fan. True, I never watched any baseball and I couldn't tell you the first thing about the Yankees team. But I loved my Yankees hat and I wore it proudly. And then I moved to Boston. I quickly realized that “claiming” to be a Yankee’s fan would not easily cut it in this city. If I was going to bravely wear my hat in Boston I would need to fully commit to the Yankees. Wearing a Yankees hat would not be enough. I also realized that New Englanders are very serious and passionate about their sports. I have been living in the Boston area for 3 months now. During this time, the Red Sox have been on a winning strike. My husband and I found ourselves caught up in the excitement and we watched a few games. As we were watching the Red Sox play, I realized this was the most baseball I have ever watched. I also noticed that the Boston Red Sox hats were conveniently the same color blue as the Yankees hat. I felt myself getting drawn in. Yet, I am from New York.This was not a decision to be made lightly. Saturday night was an important game. If the Red Sox won this game against Detroit Tigers they would go to the World Series. My husband and I also decided we would let this game determine if we would officially commit to the Red Sox. So we invited our good friends Micah and Jannat over for dinner and to watch the game. Now, in the past my baseball watching was more of an opportunity to talk and socialize. Not this game. This game was intense and exciting. When Shane Victorino’s seventh- inning grand slam propelled Boston to a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers, I declared to my husband that we were Red Sox fans! My dad is actually a Red Sox fan. During my parent’s first visit to see us, my dad went to two Red Sox games in the three days they were here. Our family is now equally divided in loyalties between the Red Sox and Yankees. Tonight is the first game of the World Series. My school is in Boston, not far from Fenway Park. Today we could wear jeans and Red Sox gear in support of Boston. It was pretty incredible. Every single staff member and student was decked out in their Red Sox clothing and hats. I have the cutest picture of my students proudly cheering on Boston in their Red Sox shirts. While I was excited for this opportunity to wear jeans, I just become a fan a few days ago. I quickly bought a Red Sox t-shirt to wear. However, I was disappointed that I didn't have a baseball hat. Until my wonderful husband surprised me with my very own Boston Red Sox hat, in the perfect shade of blue. I love my husband. As I think about this journey, the underlying reason of why I have become a Red Sox fan dawns on me. Boston feels like home. That is God’s grace and goodness right there. I have fallen in love with Boston and this city is now my home. And it is really is that simple. It’s not about the players or the team, it’s not about the fact they are in the World Series, and it’s not even about the color of the hat. It actually comes down to the fact that if Boston is truly your home, you simply are a Red Sox fan. Boston is my home. And that is my story of becoming a Boston Red Sox fan.

Identity: in the midst of changes

I had an interesting moment tonight. I was sitting at a table full of girls, chatting after a long week of work. When a simple observation was made. At one end of the table sat the married “older” women and the other end of the table sat the “younger” single ladies.

It took me a moment to realize that I was in the category of “older” married women. After 30 years of being single and only 3 months of being married, I have to remind myself that I am now in the married category. And after the past decade of being the younger 20-something girl, I am now the “older” 30-something girl.

While I may need a moment to realize this, I honestly don’t mind the categories I find myself in. I actually love it. I was excited to enter my thirties. I absolutely love being married. It’s simply a new identity for me. “Married and older”.

When I pause to think about it, a lot of my identity has changed recently. Single to married. 20s to 30s. Virginian to Bostonian. Public school teacher to Private school teacher. Church member to Pastor’s wife.

That is quite a list. A simple comment from tonight reminded me of all of these changes.

Yet, has my identity really changed that much? These are all outward changes of my identity. And yes, with each change comes adjustments. I would be the first to acknowledge that my life has been full of adjustments recently. However, I do not feel like my identity has changed that drastically. Not in the sense of what truly matters.

For God has given me an identity that will not change. The year before I met Stephen, God spoke a specific word into my life. Instead of New Year’s resolutions that I would soon quickly forget, God gave me one word to focus on for that year. Beloved.

What is my identity? God’s Beloved. What was my identity before I meet my husband? Beloved. What is my identity now that I am married and in the midst of all of these life changes? Beloved.

What does that mean to be the Beloved of the God?

be·lov·ed

adjective

1.

greatly loved; dear to the heart.

noun

2.

a person who is greatly loved.

Synonyms

1. cherished, precious; sweet, darling.

A person who is greatly loved.  What does this simple definition mean in my life? I am greatly loved. I am precious to Him. I am cherished in God’s sight. I am completely accepted. He rejoices over me with singing. He takes great delight in me. His love for me is perfect.

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

I can rest in the Lord’s love. There is no need for striving, performing, or earning of love and approval. I can rest secure in Him for I am loved and accepted. My God will shield me.

“The one the Lord loves”. As I continue to adjust and navigate through all the changes in my life, my simple prayer is that I continue to rest securely in my identity as God’s Beloved.

Simple Things

Today I am grateful for the simple things. Life can feel so busy. There is always more to be done. Yet when I stop and look around me there is so much to be grateful for each day.

Gratitude. How it fuels our perspective and mindset. How it fills us with life.

Today I am grateful for the simple things. I am grateful… For an ice cream date with my husband. For the warmth of a sunny day. For the beauty of fall and the changing of leaves. For how my husband dances with me in the kitchen when we cook dinner together. For the simplicity of a child’s prayer. For how God can speak right to our heart through a simple verse. For a smile and kind word.

I am grateful for how people and relationships feed our soul. I am grateful… For an unexpected encouraging email from a friend. For sharing my day with my husband and listening to his day. For the joy of surprising a colleague with a simple card and gift. For a hug from one of my students at the end of the school day.

I love how gratitude changes our view of life and others. I have already seen how powerful this is in marriage. I am married to an optimist. Which means my husband always sees the best in me and in our marriage. And I have seen the difference when I choose to focus on all that I am grateful for in my husband. We are both far from perfect yet gratitude provides a beautiful lens for our marriage and for one another.

I pray that God will continue to develop a grateful heart within me. When life feels hard or overwhelming or stressful, I will choose in those moments to give thanks. To look around me and give thanks for the simple things.

“It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.” ― Paulo Coelho

God's grace

God’s grace.

This beautiful sunrise is a picture of God’s grace to me.

Lately, my life has been full of adjustments. Some are  large  and some are small, but they are all adjustments.

Anyone who knows me  will tell you that I am not a morning person. To see me at work early in the morning was uncommon and a little shocking. I remember stopping by to say “good morning” to my principal on the one rare occasion that I got to work by 7 am. And I really couldn't take full credit for this early morning arrival since I had dropped off a friend at the airport to catch an early flight.

The irony is that I am now getting to work every day between 7 and 7:30. One adjustment of my new job. My amazing husband has tried his best to help me with this new adjustment. Every morning he drives me to work so I don’t have to take public transportation into the city. Which would mean I would have to get up even earlier.

However, this morning it hit me. I was completely exhausted when the alarm went off. And I must admit that I started off my morning in a bad mood. Maybe it was my perspective but it felt like one of those morning where everything goes wrong and I found myself running late.

And then it hit me. God’s grace.

As my husband and I walked out of our front door to leave for work, we found ourselves staring at this amazing sunrise over the ocean.

God’s grace. There I was…not in the best of moods… and before me God gave me a lavish and undeserved gift of beauty.

There are many mornings when I get up, sit on our couch, and watch the sunrise over the ocean. I spend time with God.  I thank Him for the day and give Him my concerns for the day. I praise Him in the midst of His beauty.

However, this was not one such morning. Yet God chose to show me His grace.

And His grace always surprises me. Because it is unearned and undeserved. Did I deserve such a beautiful and stunning gift of beauty based on my attitude? No, but God in His grace gave it to me. God in His love. For this is who HE is… a God of grace and love.

And by God’s grace, I still made it to work bright and early!

Thank you God for your grace. For how You show me Your love and grace on a daily basis. Your grace is amazing and it draws me into Your Presence to worship You.

Here's to writing again!

This month I am inspired to write again.

I read a friend’s blog today and she inspired me to write. She is taking a 31 day challenge to write every day in the month of October. As I was reading her blog entry, I realized how much I missed writing. Ever since I was young I have written in a journal. I remember getting my first journal in sixth grade. It was a Precious Moment’s journal and I earned it by memorizing verses in school. I have a vivid memory of sitting on top of a hill in Hickory’s Park with my journal, watching the sunset, feeling close to God, and writing. And not much has changed. While I am now 31 years old, I still feel close to God when I’m in the beauty of the outdoors. And I still love to journal and write. I feel close to God when I’m writing. When I write out my thoughts and feelings, I find myself at times like David in the Psalms. After I have poured out my emotions and feelings, I am then able to come back to the truth that I know. And God encourages me as I fix my gaze back upon Him.

I have not blogged much this past year. I was just a little preoccupied with falling in love, planning a wedding, getting married, moving, and starting a new job. Life has been just a little crazy this past year. However, I was journaling a lot through all of these changes. Until the last 2 months. And I find that I miss it. I miss it in a way that you do not realize you miss something until you start it again. “Ahh, I forgot how much I love this. I forgot how much this brings me life”.

So I will write again. As I write I know that God will encourage me. As I write, I know I will feel more alive. As I write I will find an outlet to process my life, my thoughts, and my feelings.

Here’s to a month of writing again!