My parents, y'all. Seriously ace.
My dad has this thing that he always makes a seal noise whenever he gets a chance to applaud for me. Dance competitions, curtain calls, piano recitals - I've heard this "ORK ORK" over the crowd for decades now. It was pretty cool to get to tap my ear in response as I headed off that graduation stage.
My parents were also able to see a run through of Reconciling while they were here.
I was maybe just a bit nervous?
Luckily - they loved it.
(evidently this is a Michael Scott gif post now)
The next few days were filled with sightseeing/tour-guiding with the parentals, rehearsing for our #EdFringe previews, and moving into yet another temporary home. Lots of change, lots of upheaval, lots of transitional elements outside of Jenny's control which...hmm, how do I deal with that again?
However much I'd like to throw an adult-sized tantrum, the reality is this is the season I'm in. Transitional. The next three to six months feature a Jenny without a permanent home or plan. And that's ok. I just have to keep repeating that to myself.
I know that because it's such a struggle means that there's probably some important growth and learning happening in the mix. (Actually, I'm sure of it.) It's a life-long lesson to learn you're not in control. I do get that. I've just been thrown a whole new set of data and I'm just not sure what to do with it.
So until then, I'll look at things like this on the internet to make me feel better.
I'll tell you another thing that makes me feel better. I gave my parents my tour of the British Museum while they were here. The British Museum is one of my absolute favorite places in London - you could spend a whole day in there looking at all the priceless treasures the mighty British empire stole from across the world.
(It's just the truth)
Anywho, I get them into the Parthenon room where there are actual sculptures and reliefs from one of the most important and recognized buildings in all of human history. (Again...not in Greece for some reason.) My dad got emotional and then made my mom and me emotional (the King family does emotional really well). See, Dad's favorite verses in the Bible are Paul's speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17. Paul said these words in the shadow of the very pieces that surrounded us. Beautiful and intricate art - their best work dedicated to their gods. And this is what Paul boasted to them-
Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
The stuff in the British Museum will easily take your breath away. Heck, I'd get married in the Enlightenment Gallery.
But hearing my dad recite those words in front of those beautiful pieces of history was priceless. This art is just the imagination of man. It's seriously great. But it's ultimately stone. God does not dwell there.
Whatever plans there are for me, they are astronomically bigger than my imagination on its best day. I don't mean that to say, "God's gonna make me a movie star" or anything like that. I think I just mean that He knows better. That's what all my control issues come down to, right? Trusting enough to say- You know better. You, that aren't served by human hands. You, that give all mankind life and breath and everything. You know better.
Now. I'm not saying I'm doing that all that well at this right now, but you know- at least I'm aware?
Here's the timeline of my situation. I leave for Edinburgh in less than a week. After a fantastic and furious month up in Scotland, I head back down to London for a precious few days before flying back to the States. I will not put 'permanently' on the end of that sentence because I refuse to believe that. But truly- my home city will be changing very soon. Dwelling on that sends me back into my King family emotional place.
Michael understands.
I think now that Dr. Seuss was wrong when he said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I will definitely smile- a lot. But I'll also cry. A lot.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
To transitions,
