Kindred Spirits: Zac

It's been a minute since I made one of these, huh? Allow me to catch you up; I am currently back home for the holidays! (Expect a post about that soon.) I haven't even been back for a week, but it's been so wonderful reuniting with all my friends and family here. I plan on writing more about that later, but for now, enjoy a new "Kindred Spirits" post!

When Zac and I made plans for coffee, I knew I wanted to snap some photos of him while I was home, but I didn't even think to do a post until I got home and saw just how great these pictures are.

I have known this man since the 2nd grade. We used to ride the same bus to our school every day. Also, we were born exactly one week apart, so we'll both be turning TWENTY in two short months. How crazy! To think we've known each other for all this time. And what's even better is that we've stayed friends. 

Zac and I are alike in almost countless ways. There is a much much shorter list of things we don't have in common than things we do. We both love words. We're both poetic, lyrical people (I think). We're both story tellers, and we both love to hear stories. I could go on and on. We even have a secret handshake. It's cute.

I am so lucky to have spent the last 13 years watching this young boy turn into a grown man of Christ. Zac has such a humble heart. He's very passionate about the things he loves most. He has such a priority on the things he loves, and it's a very cool, admirable thing. Inspiring, even. 

I wanted to share my favorite memory of us. The summer when we were seventeen, a group of us took a trip up to Kansas City, MO to spend the day at World's of Fun. It was a Friday, two days after the 4th, and it was hot. Extremely hot. We all thought since it was a Friday that the place would be packed, but it wasn't. In several spots through out the park it was like we were the only ones there. Especially at this one ride, called the Mamba. If you've ever been to the park, you know that the Mamba is the tallest roller coaster there, and from what I understand, one of the tallest in the world. The coaster consists of two HUGE drops, with peaks of 205 ft high and 175 ft high. It's terrifying, but so fun. The beginning of the ride is going up the huge mount to get to the top (at 205 ft) and once your there, the tram just slightly tips over to the other side and then you're just gone after that.

Well, since it was so not busy, a lot of us rode this ride several times. And we switched our partners each time we rode it. I think it was our third time riding it when Zac and I chose to be partners. We chose to sit at the very front of the tram. At the time, it was harmless. But then when the ride started moving, and our tram started to go up that stupid 205ft hill, our cart started to make funny noises. Then it started shaking and moving in an un-normal way. Neither of us said anything, but it was clear that we were both overcome with the same revelation: this is the end. 

Just seconds before we got to the very top, about to speed down that huge mount to die, we looked at each other, panic stricken, and like I said, there was no exchanging of words, but Zac quickly reached out his hand for me to grab it, so I did, and then the cart went over the top and we were screaming our heads off. Luckily we both survived, and now have this amazing memory of us communicating the same message with out words. It was so great and I'll never forget it.

His life is in full motion and exciting things are in his future. I'm just blessed to be a part of it. Even if I am 700 miles away, we will always be in one another's lives. 

I would like to end by asking for prayers. My very sweet friend and former co-worker just lost her 10 year old son. He just turned 10 six days ago. He died very unexpectedly. He had autism and he was an angel. I never actually got to meet him, but oh, how I rejoice in the fact that I will get to someday. In heaven. 

This sweet little boy has a younger sister, whom I know is taking this very hard. I can't imagine what my friend and her husband are going through, either. Please keep this precious family and my friend in your prayers. Pray for peace. And rest. And most of all, joy. This woman is one of the coolest, most joyous woman I have ever met, and it was an incredible honor to get to work with her everyday and hear her talk about her sweet son, Gannon. I am heartbroken, but God has overcome all of our troubles and heartbreaks. Thank you for reading this.

Currently

It's been a little while, hasn't it? It doesn't feel like it has been, but if I stop and think about all that's happened between my last post and now, it's actually a lot. My life has been both beautiful and challenging since I moved here. Kind of crummy at first, then slowly but surely, things began to look up and now I am at a spot where, even in the most difficult of times, I am still able to look around me and feel the magic of this town. In spite of the good, and in spite of the bad, this town is exactly where I am supposed to be. I plan on writing about my experience and what I've gone through, but like I mentioned in one of my posts earlier this year, I don't want to put it in writing and make it official where I (and anyone else) can read it, and then change my mind the next day. I also want to allow myself enough time to have lived here in order to generate up a synopsis. Because I'm still new. One minute I'll think to myself, "I have got this Nashville thing down," and the next I'll be stuck in traffic, wishing I still lived in Wichita. It's funny. 

All of that aside, I have some pretty incredible friends down here. I've always said southern hospitality is real, but these people have made that sentence seem so lame. They are so many more things than just hospitable. I am surrounded by the love they pour out over others every minute I'm with them. The majority of these people and I became friends at church. A tradition we've made together is hanging out at Crema (best. Nashville. coffee.) each week before church starts, and a few weeks ago, my friend Paul and I were talking about our guilty pleasures, and he just happened to mention secretly loving musicals. Ironically, my friend Madison and I had just made plans to watch the Phantom of the Opera, and thus, it became an event rather than a chill girls night in. 

Everyone brought a snack, Lauren and I made cookies, decorated and cleaned our place all day and night, and it was such a blast. We (but mostly me) sang the entire time! Then afterwards snapped a few photos, and I thought I'd share. (And what at the lights? Double exposure is a cool thing.)

From the front left to back: Paul, me, Anya, Madison, Sam, Eryn, Lindsay, Evan, Sam N., Lau

It was a fun "night at the opera." And now, my currently's:

Reading - … Still the book thief. But the amount of books I've bought in the last month is unreal. One of my goals for 2015 is to read more, Netflix less.

Eating - A LOT of snap pea chips. The ones from Trader Joe's are absolutely my favorite. This is really the only thing I'm consistently eating. Oh and peanut butter and honey sandwiches, though that's nothing new.

Enjoying - My wonderful new friends. So many of them that I've started relationships with are people I know I can trust and people that love me in spite of my junk. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Listening To - I'm a little late in getting this album, but geez louise, can we talk about Ed Sheeran's "X" album for a minute? It's so. good. My favorite tracks are "I'm A Mess," "Tenerife Sea," "Runaway" and "Thinking Out Loud." All of them hold a special place in my heart. Apart from that, the new Ben Howard album and HalfNoise's new album are blowing my mind daily.

Watching - I'm almost half way through the second to last season of Criminal Minds, and if you're shocked then sorry I'm not sorry. 

Loving - My church. The Holy Spirit has never been more evident in my life than He has been lately. And I think that's because I'm finally paying attention. I'm finally realizing what faith is, and how much is matters in my life. It's incredible. 

Thanks for reading. A lot of exciting things are coming up soon.. very soon.