Things I Learned From Colbie Caillat

As I opened up Word just now, I started to think about how I should start this post. “What Means the Most” by Colbie Caillat came on, and the lyrics seemed to echo exactly what has been in my heart. (This is the segment of the program when you go check out the song before continuing to read what will surely be a brilliant blog post. Look, I’ll even make it easy for you…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pJ1HPD432s. Bam. No excuses now.)

As we grow older, we tend to learn more and more about who we are. The lessons are usually subtle, and if you aren’t looking for them they’re quite easy to miss. It’s my opinion that you are less likely to ‘find yourself’ hiking up a mountain to a monastery in China or India, and more likely to make that discovery amidst the ordinary activities of your everyday life. The past two years have taught me more about myself than I thought was even possible to learn. If we learn about who God is through His creation, you must look no further than your own heart or mind to realize how complex He is.

So what does this have to do with Colbie Caillat? Great question! This adventure in London has already taught me something that never quite clicked in my brain before now. I’ve always been a dreamer (that shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of you who know me). But my dreams have always involved me…and no one else. Rarely does something plant itself in my mind that involves others as a crucial part of the plan. Does that make me selfish? Maybe. I’ll psychoanalyze that part of it later. In addition to being a dreamer, I have always been independent. Usually an admirable trait, my independence has kept certain people at a distance, stopped me from depending on anyone else…it’s a hard truth to swallow that our strengths can easily become our weaknesses.

So here’s the point: my independence caused me to dream of things for my life that only involved myself. I never considered that those dreams wouldn’t be all I wanted if I didn’t have those I love around me. Back to Colbie Caillat (you thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you?). I now know what means the most to me. It’s the part of the dream I didn’t plan for, that I now see as absolutely essential. God has to be a part of every one of my dreams…He has to be the center of every one of my dreams. And I need the people I love around me. I think the reason I spend so much time on Skype and Facebook is because I want them to be a part of this, even if it’s over a Wi-Fi connection. So maybe this London trip won’t be all I dreamed it would be, but at least I’ve learned how to dream.

Enough with the introspection, though. I’m in London, and no matter what I’m feeling, I can still appreciate all that I am finally getting to see. I met up again with Laura yesterday at Harrods. Oh. My. Gosh. Picture that quintessential candy counter, an old-fashioned food market (back when people cared how they looked when they went to get groceries), extravagant floor after extravagant floor of clothes, handbags and furniture, a lovely and addicting ice cream parlor, a wine cellar that would make any true aficionado weep with joy, and elevators that take you to Egypt with their decor…all rolled into one. Like I said. Oh. My. Gosh.

Before that life-changing experience I got to see London by coach (that’s a bus for you silly Americans). Our tour guide was simply fabulous. A small woman in her fifties with orange-red hair, she wore a long bright blue dress and over-sized jewelry. Oh how I wish I had been able to record every word that came out of her mouth, because she made me laugh. “Be careful of pickpockets here, this is the tiger zone. If they do get your money, for goodness sake don’t let the bastards get away with it.” “The young, just-out-of-school guys work here. They don’t have any reputation to protect so they can risk it all, and they’re usually fabulously wealthy. They’re the ones you want to meet in the pubs.” So great.

And this morning I went to Hillsong Church London. I loved getting to be in a theatre packed with people who love the Lord, singing at the top of their lungs, hands raised…it was a wonderful experience. The speaker was good, though not amazing. It did help to strengthen my trust in the Lord, and my belief that He will lead me through any trial I may face…including this one. But just because God can lead us through something, does that mean He must? If there’s a pothole in the middle of the rode with a thin piece of plywood covering it, why drive over the plywood if you can simply go around? Maybe there’s something to be learned from the plywood, who knows.

So here’s to learning, overly extravagant stores and potholes…they certainly keep life from being boring