Green Pastures and Still Waters

We appreciate everyone who checked in with us & prayed for the state of Hawaii during the ever so slow, 2 mile per hour moving, looming Hurricane Lane. It never did reach our island of O'ahu as a "hurricane." By the time it reached us, it downgraded from it's start of a category 5, to a tropical storm, but even a "tropical storm" label was an overestimate of what we experienced (we had on & off spotty rain/windy gusts during the day, followed by a solid night of steady rain & minor wind gusts...at least for what I remembered hearing every hour or so I woke up). Although our home island was quite unaltered by the hurricane/tropical storm, The Big Island of Hawaii experienced a high of 44.88 inches of rain in the town of Waiakea Uka, while the island of Maui had a 300-acre brush fire that was being fueled by the strong winds. I send my prayers to the people of their islands for their possible disruption of what their "normal routine" may look like for the upcoming days/weeks. We residents of O'ahu are blessed & thankful, & although many of us thought, (including myself) "well now we just spent all that money on cart's full of canned goods & gallons of water for nothing," let us all take a step back & be assured... money is simply composed of 25% linen, and 75% cotton, while people's lives & preparedness for safety are worth much more than that.

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Clay & I have been enjoying all that our unique town of Kailua offers. We have stayed mostly local the past two weeks, as both him & I have started back up with our normal work schedules.

As I work from home, I am able to have flexibility in my schedule. I love biking; & until our household goods arrive with my bike, Jon & Janine lent me one of theirs so I can find views on my own like this...

...that leads to this...

... "The Mokes," or formally called "Nā Mokulua" (Hawaiian words for "the two islands." The islands formed between 2.7 and 3.9 million years ago. That's a pretty big gap on their estimated formation date - I'll have to ask God exactly when, when I get to heaven).

I thrive on an appropriate amount of alone time. That "appropriate" will look different for every person, depending heavily on personality, of course. My "appropriate" is a generous heaping full. Biking & walking are two of my preferred "hobbies," so to say. Although I do thoroughly enjoy being in the presence of other company while doing these, I also relish the times when I do these solo, which is daily. I need time to think out loud, with no one around to hear me, or respond to me, but me & God. Yes, I talk out loud to myself, for it is my method of detox. I also love to sing frivolously; always have since I was probably 3, all of us Grieco girls have. But am I in any way The Voice talented? That is going to be a hard no from me. Sure, I sing constantly around Clay, as he can't escape that, & he married me knowing beforehand that I usually sing more than I talk, but not around others, of course. So when I am in my solo walks/biking, you better believe I belt out those notes. I allow my ideas/ opinions/ concerns/ annoyances/ issues/ struggles that get filed solely into the "thoughts" category of the mind, to be brought out into the "public" (public meaning: moving from the inside of my mind to the outside) via talking or singing, whichever I feel more compelled to do at the time. And these opinions/ concerns, etc. are not anything usually worth mentioning to another, as to why I unload them in that solo setting. Just a little mind decluttering/spring cleaning, so to speak. Keeps me fresh.

Doing all of this "detox" for myself reminds me of a verse we would recite at our Pop & Nana's church when we were young: "Psalms 23:2-3: He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul." My "green pastures" & "still waters" are dependent of where I am currently living. Ironically, here, they are the lush greens, & the gentle waves of the Pacific, & this is exactly how my soul is restored. I admire those "green pastures" & "still waters" as a reminder to myself that God's love to us is shown even in His simple creations of the world's natural beauty, & it sure is easy on the eyes. In Proverbs 17:22, it says that a glad heart makes a cheerful face, & God made my heart that cannot be physically seen with the eyes, just as naturally as he made my mascara-less face/ climate controlled, (so here, 24/7 frizzy) hair / 5'3'' non-hollywood runway model material body, that can be seen with the eyes. My solo walks/bike rides with the beautiful views always bring me back to the simply reality: life is precious. I sometimes need that humble reminder, & need to be actively, always thankful for all that God has given me, & how he chose to design & compose all of me, & that nothing is flawed.

Oh how birds are not the only one's that fly in life...time does too.