out of the fog & into the light.

There was this week in January where it was nothing but fog.  And I mean nothing.  The air was heavy, the train sounded like it was going to come right through our house several times a day, and it was just flat dull and gray no matter which way you looked.

The first few days weren't bad.  And then the reality of the stagnant air hit & it hovered over our world like a dark, ugly cloud day, after day, after day.

One thing I need to have in huge, bold words on a sign I can roll out when the fog rolls in each winter is this:   {fog doesn't last forever}!!  And even when it feels like it's going to hold on for the rest of your life, it doesn't.

Because up above the fog there is this place where the sun shines & you can almost feel God whispering happiness straight into your soul.

It's a place where smiles are contagious.

And relationships are strengthened.

Where squeals of delight can be heard echoing.

And friends pull you up from the deepest of pits you find yourself in.

There are places just like this where sunlight bounces off eyelashes & gives another freckle.

Where friends get to laugh.  A lot.

And middle-school drama gets left behind.

Where sun-flare is caught & captured.

And you remember that dancing isn't always done on your feet.

Where warmth is found in the comfort of legs wrapped around you and gloved hands holding you tight.

It's a place where you don't have to see to believe.  You just trust.

And a place where just {be}ing is the only option.

It's a place where you remember how to laugh, how to yell, and how to hold on tight to that which could disappear in seconds.

A place where you put one foot in front of the other and just carry on.

We found a place just out of the fog.

A place where it wasn't about gloom or gray.

A place where the thought of bottling up the sunshine was practical.

And shadows & slippery sleds simply meant {love}.

There was this place not far from home that we're still dreaming of returning to ... with a fondness of a day that will be etched in our minds forever.

A place just above the clouds where God whispered {I'm here} and {you're here} ... and together, we're a glimpse of what heaven really is.

Joy - in every single kind of way.