Lilley of the field

That night I hardly slept. I tossed and turned and dozed and dreamt. Most of my dreams consisted of being late or forgetting something. I had the same kind of jitters I have before the very first day of school every year. Only this time- it was before my very first triathlon. I had prepared as much as possible. I printed the course maps and drove them in advance. I bought some needed tri gear. I watched youtube videos galore about transitions and swimming techniques. I made this fancy training plan with pretty fonts and didn't stick to it a single day. But six out of seven days of the week this summer, you would find me running, biking, or swimming- simply not on the day it was scheduled though. There's something humorous about this that would make you tilt your head in a "huh... really?" kind of way if you've known me for over ten years. After posting the I-crossed-the-finish-line pictures on social media, one of my dear high school friends captured it w

laugh·a·ble ˈlafəb(ə)l/ adjective so ludicrous as to be amusing - - - - - Five years. I drove away from school with our school sign in my review mirror and just like that, this girl has five years of teaching under her belt. It's almost laughable when I remember my very first day of school five years ago driving home with that same school sign behind sobbing and deciding how I would tell my principal I was quitting. I simply couldn't do it. Simply didn't have it in me. That's especially laughable when I consider that two years ago, I was chosen for District Teacher of the Year. Five years. We drove away from the mountains this past weekend with the Lilley's cabin in our review mirror and just like that, this boy and girl have five years of marriage under their belt. Aaron's parents bought that cabin shortly after we started dating and I remember my first time there hauling rocks to line the driveway. Secretly, I hoped that

Do you ever want to really explain something so significant in your life, but you come up short with words? Are there really words to describe the greatest joys and deepest sorrows of life? In Brennan Manning's book,  The Ragamuffin Gospel  (which I can't recommend enough), he writes that trying to comprehend God's love is like trying to contain Niagara Falls in a tea cup. I feel overwhelmed by the sheer love and mercy of the Lord looking at these pictures my good friend Mary Ashley took of my feet. My little tea cup has shattered because His grace just can't be contained. So in feeble words- I will at least tell my story in hopes that you will hear His story of love and mercy which is intended to be the theme of all our stories.   - - - -  Five years ago, during my first year teaching, I started coming home from school with terrible pain in my feet. I developed plantar fasciitis. Your plantar fascia is a band of connective tissue that runs along the sole o