In the Hispanic culture the elderly are well respected. Especially the matriarch! Her wisdom and way of life are passed down from generation to generation through stories, meal recipes, and special celebrations. As a child I saw my Abuela (grandmother) almost every day, which allowed for me to hear her stories and experience her cooking first hand. Slowly without me noticing I began to treasure and identify with the hardships my family endured to ensure the next generation like me lived a more opportunistic life. Although my Abuela had only made it to the eighth grade, her wisdom surpassed anything that could be contained to a text book and four walls of an institution. As I sit here writing today, I see her legacy and wisdom live on and transcend physical space and time, for it lives in me. 

One of the sweetest times in life is when you can connect with a friend. When you speak with a friend something magical happens. Your soul could be affirmed, challenged, encouraged, comforted, and so much more. Often you leave the conversation feeling heard and as if you received a blessing. One indication for me that I am speaking with a friend is that during the unspoken moments they know what I am thinking. This friend can finish my sentences, predict my thoughts at times, and challenge me with difficult conversations. Sometimes these friendships take time, years, to establish, but there are the rare occasions where it just simply happens.  

When I became a believer in Jesus Christ I had a preconception about prayer. Prayer I had misunderstood as either a method of dealing with crises or a way to delay making a decision. Not that prayer does not impact situations to the point of allowing God to intervene and make a way we did not see even possible. We have seen this in our observations of the Red Sea encounter. Yes, prayer does help you get clarity to make a decision so the statement "let me pray about it" in and of itself is not wrong. But is that it? Is that really why God created prayer? 

As I sit here and watch my sons play their Saturday sports, I am reminded of how much detail the Lord orchestrates in His creation of us. We spend many hours practicing and planning for real game scenarios. We talk about positioning, mindfulness, and strategy. We practice, practice, practice. Then game day comes. I watch with anticipation to see how my sons will apply all that we practiced. Will they remember to analyze the situation and remember how to respond? Will they stay engaged throughout the game and remember to use all the resources they have been equipped with to respond? Will they need to be reminded of all the practice they have done and all the resources and skills they have been equipped with?

When I was training for a half marathon race my main concern was whether or not I would have enough water on my run. I trained with so many different water carrying devices. Some of these devices would be wrapped around my waist and offer different amounts of water. You would think it would be easy to just strap a belt around your waist, fill up the 3-4 containers and just start running! But no. 

The belt around the waist for me was constraining and heavy. Who wants to run 13 miles? Who wants to run 13 miles with baggage?