Lilly Cristy

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  • Indescribable Joy

    Well, it’s been a while. A month and a half of lots of ups, plenty of downs, some in-betweens, new adventures, endless to-do lists, a life abundant in change, and a heart lavished with blessings and joy.

    And as I sit here, all I can really do is breathe and recognize that, God is good.

    So much is overwhelming my heart right now. The joy of the Lord has never been so present in my life and for that, I am beyond grateful. There was a while where I felt like I had been robbed of my joy, like a thief had come in the night and just taken it. I ran after that stolen joy as fast as I could, but I could never quite catch up. I was always left in the dust, panting for air, hoping to find something around me to satisfy this so-called “loss.” Now, I won’t knock myself too hard here, but I was looking in the wrong places. I was holding onto too much of the life that I wanted, the life that I thought I should have, instead of submitting to the Lord’s will for my life.

    But the harsh reality of this slapped me in the face pretty dang good and then pushed me into the sweet of embrace of our loving and gracious God. So, after months of battling a deep heartache that can’t even be described, I found myself in a position of completele submission. I took my hands off the wheel and trusted that I would not be forsaken.

    For someone like me; the planner, the organizer, the thinker, the doer, letting go of all control should have been the biggest challenge. BUT, it proved to be the most wonderful, freeing, and joyful experiences. I was humbled and I was broken by this experience, but the peace and the joy that now follow me are so amazing, I find the experience indescribable.

    During the many months of uncertainty, hopelessness, and messy heartache, I found my constant in this: “Blessed is she who believed that The Lord would fulfill His promises to her.” – Luke 1:45

    What beautiful words to remind us that God wants to fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts, He longs to provide for his children in radical ways, He delights in our joy, and He loves us more than we could ever even begin to fathom.

    I couldn’t even begin to list all of the blessings I have been showered with over the past month, but I will say, I am thankful. I am happy. What an indescribable joy so pure, it could only be considered a gracious gift from God.

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  • Simplicity

    There is something so special about leaving behind the daily duties of life, the endless to-do lists, the heavy weight of responsibility…and trading it all in for the freedom that a few days of simplicity can bring.

    I am an adventurer by nature, an explorer of sorts, a restless heart always trying to grab onto more of life. Yet I often find myself with a handful of life slipping through my fingers like sand as I try to look too far ahead to the next moment. And somewhere in this crazy mess of growing up, I’ve lost my childlike spirit of living completely in each day and appreciating each moment exactly as it is.

    The past few days, I found myself rekindling this childlike spirit, finding contentment in each and every moment. It started with a spontaneous, last-minute decision to go camping. Whenever my Mom comes to town, crazy adventurous ideas like this are not unusual…they have kind of become the norm with us. So we rallied whatever camping supplies we could find, packed the car and headed north to hit the beach and set up camp.

    The simple joys of camping are something I crave as I sit her on my back porch in the morning sunlight. My hair is no longer salty and tangled, my feet no longer sandy and blackened by dirt, my sunburned nose has faded to a golden tan, and the campfire smell of my raggedy sweatshirt has dissipated. But these simple things, these moments of absolute vulnerability, where my hair is messy and tangled, my clothes are sandy and dirty, these are the moments when my heart feels the most open, the most joyful, the most content. These are the raw moments when we realize that it is truly these simple things that bring us such great joy. It’s easy to be captivated by the glitz and supposed glamour of an extravagant life. But does that extravagance fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts?

    Sitting on the beach, relaxing in the sun, flipping through the pages of my book, while the sea breeze blew over me and the hot sun warmed my back, I think I realized that the draw of extravagence is inevitable, but the joy of simplicity is the more fulfilling route to take.

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  • The Joy of Struggle

    Disclaimer: First off…this morning I woke up at 4am, travelled 1000 miles home to Washington state and now here I am trying to edit a blog post…so I hope my delirious and tired writing will be interesting for someone. Secondly friends, I’m writing about surfing, which well I am so NOT good at surfing. Of the 15 times I’ve ever gone, I think I’ve only actually caught a wave twice. BUT, I absolutely love love love to surf. It is probably one of my favorite things ever.

    Anyway, yesterday I headed out and figured I would try my luck with short boarding….HA (please insert laughter here.) Needless to say, I didn’t catch a single wave and today my arms feel like they’re about to fall off, my ribs are sore, my forehead is completely sunburnt, and I’m totally exhausted, but it was still absolutely amazing. I think I’m still in the “honeymoon phase” of surfing, where even if the waves are terrible or I make a total fool of myself, I still have the best time.

    Yesterday while I was surfing, I got absolutely thrashed. The waves were not even that big but I was a wreck. Taking a 6-month break from surfing really took a toll on this gals wimpy arms. I fought and I struggled and I felt completely beaten down just trying to paddle out past the break. As I was paddling, I felt like I was just getting destroyed by what I thought were “some really big waves”. But once I finally got out past the break, I laughed as I realized the waves were actually reeeeally small.

     As I sat out there on my board, the sun shining on my face, the salty air blowing through my tangled hair, and the waves gently crashing on shore, I realized how life and surfing are so similar. Now, I don’t want to lose you here with my cheesiness…but really, just hear me out. We spend so long trying to battle our circumstances and push through the difficult spots…when in all reality sometimes all we have to do is let go, sit back, and enjoy the beauty all around us and the magnitude of what we have accomplished. We spend so long paddling and paddling through the tough stuff that we forget to look back and realized that those waves we were fighting through, well they don’t look so bad one we get past their breaking point.

    This realization is absolutely heart changing. The truth is that, God does not forsake us in these times of trouble, but rather He strengthens us to go through these troubled waters, with the promise to be right beside us the whole time. Though sometimes He may take us on a path that seems so long and so hard, when we get to where we’re going, we can look back and realize that these challenging times, these troubled days, these rugged waves we had to paddle through, they really weren’t so bad after all. And it is in this crazy moment that we can often find an unexplainable joy in our struggles…

    Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. —James 1:2-4

  • Taking the long way…

    Life has a tendency to just get so busy sometimes. With this rush of go-go-go I know I tend to lose sight of the beauty in each moment. It’s way too easy to get sucked into the 9-5 doldrum of life and just wander aimlessly from place to place. After spending some time thinking about this and seeing my own life fall into this slump, I knew I had to wake myself up, grab the biggest coffee I could find, and set out on an adventure.

    There’s something amazing about going outside of your comfort zone, switching up your strict routine, and just going somewhere with a little less familiarity than you’re used to. The last few months for me have been a constant roller coaster of ups and downs, changes, and big decisions…but reflecting on this, I looked at an old journal entry….”I think that maybe the best things are found outside of our comfort zone.”

    So, lately I’ve been taking my own advice. I’m not going to tell you it’s been easy…I’m a shy kinda gal. I mean, I love people, I love making new friends, I love exploring new places and trying new things, but it’s a challenge. A fear of the unknown sometimes taps on my shoulder and reminds me that the easy road is just around the corner, but I know that the long way, the hard way, the twisty-turny and uncomfortable way…well that’s a road worth taking because when you get to the top….the view is breathtaking.

    So take the long way home, try a new restaurant, reach out to a new friend, explore the unfamiliar, try something new, rediscover the beauty of each moment by stepping outside of your comfort zone and seeing things with new eyes.

    I promise, it’ll be worth it.

  • Welcome Spring.

    The only thing that separates us from the dark, cold, blustery winter and the bright, warm, glorious summer has arrived…spring is here.

    Thank goodness for the cheer and happiness that spring brings forth. Gone are the dreary days of sweaters, heavy jackets, scarves, and the dullness that hangs in the air as we all eagerly await the brighter days to come.

    And now, we welcome the abundant sunshine, blossoming trees, and clear blue spring skies with open arms. These long awaited days bring more light into our days and allow more hope into our hearts as we get our first glimpse of the beloved season of summer just peaking over the horizon.

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