Oct. 1 - Meeting of the Olivers

Our friends, Kenny and Shari, recently had their second child and named him "Oliver!"  Big Oliver and little Oliver have met before, but I got some cute shots of them together this morning.  It was such a gorgeous day...the kind that only come around a few times a year.  Clear blue skies, 65 degrees, soft breeze, first smells of Fall in the air...ahhhh.  It was lovely.  Griffin and I started out the day walking to some yard sales where we scored a ton of great finds (including an end table, tons of books and clothes, toys, etc. etc.) for $10!  I haven't gone yard/garage saling in the south, and I'm so glad I finally did.  We stopped by my friend Anna's house and hung out for a bit.  Oliver came to get us, and we spent a lazy afternoon together with the windows open and pumpkin spice creamer for our coffee.  Tonight, Anna and I went to get cookout food, and we had a cookout over at her and John's house with their son, Sully.  What a wonderful, beautiful, so good, very nice day! 

It was the kind of day where you are enjoying it so very much that you don't want it to end.  We only get a handful of days like this a year.  I just could not absorb enough of it all....I'm feeling healthy and happy, energized and revitalized; I am thankful and content, friends surrounding me; I can go to yard sales and be around a bunch of strangers and not feel a twinge of anxiety; I feel so, so much better in every area of my life, and I think I can actually say that I'm "on the other side" of the anxiety and depression of this spring/summer.  I realized this morning that the weather today would not have been so completely enjoyable unless there had been about 2 weeks of steamy, hot, rainy days before this.  It's always the deluges in life that make you appreciate the sun, the heat that makes you appreciate the cold, the suffering that makes you appreciate the relief.  I'm so thankful to the Lord today for the suffering that He has used to change my life, to give me new eyes to see His goodness and love, to bring about a greater appreciation for His gifts.  I'm not perfect, and I may have more issues with anxiety in the future; but I'm not going to fear that possibility because I know that my God will use it for good in my life and for His purposes.  It will not be in vain, if I must go through it again, and He will be with me as He always, always is.