"go not abroad at every quest or call of an untrained hope or passion."
-george herbert

The pace of this last year has literally taken my breath away at times, sometimes from weariness, sometimes from the occasional battle with anxiety about the next step and how all the details would sort out, sometimes from moments of incredible beauty.

Last Christmas and New Years I was in Ireland. The Irish have jokes about people like me--the obvious American who wants to claim the Irish heritage as my own based on great grandparents who lived there three generations ago. I still find it incredibly revelatory to connect with my genealogy--to know what motivated those who went before me.

Then, I was off to Rwanda, right at the beginning of my final semester of college. A fifteen credit work load and a part time job couldn't keep me from that adventure. It changed my life.

As soon as college finished in May, with my hard work to earn that diploma pushing me onto the next phase, my feet led me all over the place. I was up in Indiana making a documentary, across the country in Seattle, exploring mountains and a new culture and even Vancouver, in Delaware working a crazy schedule where I felt like I grew lifetimes older, in California to road trip the coast with my sister--a drive that I will never forget, in Virginia Beach to visit people I've missed greatly and cheer my friends on at a film festival, where their film took the award for best film. And finally the last bit of travel for the 2010 marathon--a trip to Houston to attend a beautiful wedding and catch up with dear friends (Misty Boggs!).

Now I am home. Christmas Eve is tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to the candle lighting service at church. That's one of the few traditions I hate to miss, which says a lot. Then, it's forward march into 2011. A whole new year. A chance to grow and laugh and love.

A chance to allow that hope and passion to get trained so that when the time comes, I'll be ready for the quest.

I hope the training comes easily, even if it is rigorous. I hope that the mission finds me...or at least whispers a hint as to what road it is down. Is that taking away from the brilliance of faith? I'm not sure. I just know that maybe the reason I'm not certain of the focus is because there is still a bit more training needed. I don't want God to let up, if that's the case. A flash in the pan is not the life I want. Faithfulness and longevity...that's what I want to mark my life on this quest. And courage. And most of all, love.

Today I drove to a familiar childhood place nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains. They may not be as large as the Rockies out west, but to me, they feel like home. As I was looking out over the landscape, with the farmland resting so peacefully, surrounded by mountains, I felt tears come to my eyes. For some reason that familiar sight brings me into a chamber of praise, where I can't help but remember how faithful my Father God has been to me my whole life.

I look up to the hills. Where does my help come from? From the Lord.

Amen.

2011 is going to be full of Him. And that makes it already full of brilliance.