Treasuring the Little Things
So, what do Landon Carter, Jacob Black, Edward Cullen, and Peter Kavinsky all have in common (other than the fact that they will make any girl swoon š)? Well, they point us to Christ by giving us an earthly glimpse of what His love for us looks like.
For the past 3 months, I have walked past this line of trees, admiring their beauty and then ultimate barrenness, realizing how drastic things can change in just a short time.
Loss of Friendship
The loss of friendship. I canāt put into words how much it hurts. I donāt think I ever truly experienced the true reality of losing a friend until I got to college. People have always told me that the friends I make in college will be lifelong friends, but they never explained how hard it would hurt to lose one.
Being at Moody Bible Institute, I have the wonderful privilege of being surrounded by so many like-minded people that have the same passions and desires as I do. This was so refreshing coming from a public high school in the heart of Chicago. It came as a shock that we even prayed in class my first few months at Moody. I didnāt have that many close friends in high school so I was incredibly grateful when God placed such amazing people in my life afterward. Yet even as Christians, none of us are even close to perfect.
Iāve come to discover that with the deepest of friendships comes the biggest heartbreaks. These past 3 years, I have lost some friends that meant the world to me at different points and despite my hard, relaxed, and easy-going exterior, it has truly hurt. Even though it was apparently nothing that I did wrong, I canāt help but wonder what I did to cause the loss and reflect on the faults of my personality.
I had never experienced anything like this before so I think I wasnāt prepared for the types of emotions that came. At first, I shrugged it off and honestly didnāt think much of it. Then, there were sad moments of internal reflection and heartbreak wondering what kind of friend I actually am if things like this can happen.
No wonder there are so many characters portrayed in TV and movies that are so closed off to the world because theyāve been so burned by people in their past. I was always confused at how someone can be so closed off to the world because I absolutely love being with people and making new friends. Now, I understand it a little bit more.
Some days I feel more lonely than others, but I realize now that I feel this way because I place more of my worth and value in friendships and relationships rather than Jesus. I truly love being around and close with people, but no matter how good a friend is, humans will always let you down. I love the people in my life, but Iāve been learning that their relationship is no replacement for the security I can have in Christ.
The beginning of quarantine back in April was one of the loneliest times in my life, but I had to be so separated from people to realize that Christ is always sufficient and enough for me. No matter what Iām feeling from one day to the next, Jesus will sustain me through it all. What a comforting reminder for me.
As the school year is beginning, and I am feeling disconnected from the rest of Moody more than ever before due to the different regulations that we must follow, I am resting in the fact that Christ knows my every need, He knows what experiences I need, He knows what lessons I need to learn, but He will be with me through it all. His presence is more than I could ever need or ask for.
With love,
Hannah
These past few months in all of our lives have been more than unexpected, and yet itās just one tiny little hill in the grand scheme of the trail knowing that relief is on the other side.
Let’s talk about 10 simple, yet interestingly unique things to Major League Baseball.
My Love of Baseball
Happy Fatherās Day!! I have been so excited to write this blog post for multiple reasons:
#1 – Who doesnāt love talking about their dads?!
#2 – A lot of my stories with my dad revolves around baseball; and I am DESPERATELY missing baseball this summer
#3 – I love sharing my stories (hence, my blog) and I love hearing other peopleās stories SO please feel free to contact me and tell me some stories you have with your dad!
Anyway, back to the story. There are so many things that I love about my dad and thereās so many things that he has taught me over the course of my life. The biggest and most important thing he taught me was that the most important thing I can do with my life is to love Jesus with my whole heart. But I would say the second biggest thing that he has taught me and that we have bonded the most over is BASEBALL.
My dad grew up going to baseball games and baseball has seemingly always been a passion for him. He learned the ins and outs of the game at a young age from his uncle, and has never ceased from learning all he can about the game since then. After moving to Chicago from Cleveland, he made the Cubs and the Sox his home teams. He came to the conclusion that if he wasnāt originally from Chicago, he didnāt have to pick a specific home team out of the two. Also, why would he limit himself to just one team when he can have double the baseball and double the excitement with two teams in the same city?! (So, yes, we are BOTH Cubs and Sox fans. I know, many of you are judging us right now but we stick with our decision.) My dad has even been to every stadium in the country, except for one, and has begun to return to ones that have been built since heās been there. As you can probably guess, I then grew up going to baseball games and my dad was determined to have me love the game just as much as him.
One day, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, my dad and I were at a game, and I turned to him and said, āYou know dad, this is kind of boring.ā Right when I said that, he seemed to deflate a little. That was one of the worst things that I could have said to my dad who loved baseball so much. He kindly responded, āHave I ever taught you how to score?ā And THATāS where my love for baseball began.
Every game after that for about a year, he would buy me a scorecard and inevitably have to re-teach me how to score each game, and just by scoring each game, I learned so much about the sport. My dad soon taught me all of the ins and outs of the game, showing me things to look out for, teaching me the strategy, familiarizing me with the players, describing how hard the game actually is, and making me realize that almost every game thereās something new that happens.
Since that time, I have multiple scorebooks filled with every game that I have been to and I have fallen in love with the game of baseball. I see the beauty of the sport, the tact and skill of it all, and love to talk about it all day long. Thereās no better summer activity than sitting in the fresh air and watching baseball. My dad and I love baseball so much so that when we go to the stadium, we easily spend 6-7 hours there. We go right when the gates open and usually stay until they kick us out. We donāt like to be rushed in our baseball experience or enjoyment of the game. Now, I am even trying to go to every stadium in the country just like him. The past 4 or 5 summers have been dedicated to baseball road trips in order to achieve this. I am currently at 20 out of the 30, so I donāt have too many more to go.
All this to say, I appreciate my dad so much for sticking it out and taking the time to teach me not only to score, but all about the game of baseball. He knew how much I would enjoy baseball if I simply was educated on it. So, from the moment I said it was āboringā, he knew he just needed to work harder, and it was so worth it! I honestly couldnāt imagine life without baseball. I wouldnāt have all the wonderful memories of traveling from stadium to stadium with my dad. I wouldn’t have been able to travel as much as I do to enjoy all the stadiums. I wouldnāt be able to enjoy something he loves a lot in life with him. And I wouldnāt have all the life lessons that come from baseball.
My lack of education on baseball made it seem boring, yet when I became educated on it, I was proven wrong and ended up loving it more than I couldāve imagined. It irks me when people say that the game is slow and boring because that usually just means they have no idea whatās happening and are not paying attention. I think this is true about a lot of things in life as well. Education can change peopleās viewpoints and get rid of misconceptions making people not only smarter, but also more compassionate and caring. This starts with simply paying attention and being attentive to whatās happening in the game to know what areas you need to learn about.
As I said, there are so many life lessons that come from baseball and I hope to share them with you in my next few blog posts!
Thank you, Dad, for all youāve done in my life, and especially for teaching me to love baseball. Love you!
With Love,
Hannah
We are currently reaping what the past generations of Christians have sown, and however good or bad the seed was, we must deal with it now.
This New Chapter
Today I begin a new decade of life. This day seemed to come so quickly. I never imagined myself in my 20s. I have always looked up to people around me in their 20s and now I have become one of them.
Today also marks the beginning of this blog. I never thought I would ever do something like this, and yet I never thought Iād be 20, so here we are. I have always enjoyed writing, especially creatively, but in my recent college years, my love for writing has really been squandered by the constant churning out of paper after reflection paper after research paper and on and on it goes, the continual work never seeming to end.
However, as the whole world has come to a screeching halt due to the pandemic affecting us all, we have been forced to stop this constant churn of life and essentially recreate what life looks like for each of us. During this quarantine, I have felt the full spectrum of emotions every single day ranging from the immense sadness of precious time lost with friends, to the mundane thoughts of simply clicking from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting. At times, Iāve even had the content feelings of enjoying all of the free time that the Lord has given us to focus on Him and our own self-care. Letās face it, weāve all been asking for the gift of time to rest and focus for a long time and now we finally have it.
Also during this quarantine, I have basically stumbled upon hobbies that I never knew might interest me. I have been baking and cooking most days of the week, actually reading for pleasure, and working out practically everyday. My job has also given me the privilege of running all of our social media accounts (shoutout to Young Life Chicago Near North) and in this, I have really come to love the idea of creating content, branding a page, growing a following, getting more people engaged, and all the other social media buzz-phrases out there. Through researching these topics and attending multiple free online masterclasses with social media professionals, I stumbled upon one sentence in one of hundreds of emails I found in my inbox every day that read, āStart your very own blog today!ā Suddenly, the lightbulb went on and at that moment I realized that I truly love writing and am in need of a place to simply process what Iām learning in life, where I yearn to grow, what God may be showing me, and all of my sometimes jumbled thoughts. If this quarantine has taught me anything, itās that everyone has their own thoughts and opinions and we all are just searching for someone to listen to us. Listening is getting increasingly harder in todayās culture with all of the constant noise that we take in on a daily basis. Therefore, Iām not looking to simply add to the noise thrown at you, but I know that I donāt often take enough time to process the things Iām learning, taking in, and all of my experiences, so I hope this outlet will help me in this way.
I chose My Pencils Have Memories as the name of my blog because this was one of my momās favorite memories of when I was little. And, looking at it now, it seems to still apply. Before school started every year, my mom would take me to buy new school supplies. Needless to say, this was one of my most favorite things ever. I absolutely loved, and still do, buying school supplies. One day, as we prepared to go shopping and were taking inventory of what we already had, my mom asked me if we could get fresh new pencils to start the year. I hesitated for a moment and with a furrowed brow looked at my mom and said, āBut I donāt want new pencils. These pencils have memories!ā
This one little sentence sums up me. I hate change on a small scale. I hate getting new pillows. I hate giving away jewelry. I hate throwing away old shoes. I hate changing traditions. But shockingly enough, Iām ok with change on a big scale. I love to travel and visit new places. I love getting a new car. I love changing classes every semester. Itās the little things in life that are the hardest to let go of. They may not have the biggest lasting impact on my life, but they were with me everyday getting me through the large changes of life.
So, today as I embark on this new decade of life, filled with so many new and exciting adventures that only the Lord knows about, I pray that the little things in life will be treasured the most. May the everyday moments with God draw me closer and closer to Him, even just a little at a time. May the special circumstances I get placed in shape me in ways I could never imagine. May the simplicity of good laughter with friends lead me to praise the Lord for His lavish blessings. May the sweet little humans that I (normally) have been entrusted to take care of every week point me to Christ in their ever-growing mind, body, and soul. And may the pencils I write these detailed memories with never be forgotten as I strive to glorify and serve God with my life.
I hope that as these small things are penciled-in to my life, God is able to erase the edges which I have drawn to create a beautiful mosaic of my life, connecting all of the details together in order to help me grow into exactly what He wants me to be for His glory. I do know that God uses each of our gifts in the Church and I hope that this blog and the sharing of my memories, thoughts, emotions, and conversations with God will be able to help someone in their walk with the Lord, even if in the slightest way. Thank you for taking this journey with me as I process life in this new decade, in the middle of my college years, and as I yearn for the future but not knowing what this space is for me yet.
With Love,
Hannah
My name is Hannah Forrider, I am an Elementary Education major at Moody Bible Institute, and was born and raised in the heart of Chicago where I still reside today.
