A few things.

Three things I know for sure.

We, as a human race, are incredibly selfish.

We are also unattractively prideful.

And we are terribly, terribly insecure.

Three more things I know as fact.

We, as a human race, love fiercely. Unfortunately that love is usually directed towards ourselves.

We highly value safety. Highly.

We will protect our individual rights to the death. Shared life is negligible.

Yet three more things I know without a doubt.

There is hope to be free from the knowledge and facts above.

We were created to give our lives away.

Love and grace make this life beautiful.

Ohhh, McDonalds

So I went to McDonalds yesterday on a break during my eight hour cleaning day. As I was pulling into a parking spot at approx 3 PM, I began to think. "Oh gosh, I haven't really spent time with the Lord today. Dang. I feel bad. He's upset." But then I realized - I've been working hard all day and I'm really excited to sit for over an hour and spend time with Him. And that's when it hit me ... He is right here, ready to give me peace, rest and joy in His presence. He is pleased that I am working hard and trying to give love and grace to people. And He is here - in humility and grace and love and majesty - ready to receive me. And I tear'ed up in thankfulness for His love and grace to me. How beautiful He is. And I saw His beauty all around me in McDonalds. Two girls happily spending time with a third that had down syndrome. An elderly husband and wife sharing fast food together. A grandmother telling an animated story to her grandson. How beautiful grace and mercy overflowing from love is. It is possible in this life because He showed them first.

And if God doesn't live in Colorado

Since it's been so long since I've blogged, I feel intimidated by writing an entry. I want to write something inspiring or incredibly life-changing that's happened to me over the last few months. Everything I'm learning these days is so personal it's hard to write about. So I'll try to write a little blurb about my time in Colorado, then be more consistent in writing as I'm learning over the next few months ....

My summer began on an epic two week road trip with three of my best friends. We made a circle around the country - 8,000 miles in 15 days. Two things I took away: This country is beautiful (especially the West) and so are my friends. I adore them.

Then in St. Louis, I hopped in the car with Beka and Thiel and turned back to the West towards Colorado. We arrived May 24th. In exactly my style, I did not mentally prepare for the summer on the Ranch (www.vistaverde.com) nor really have any idea what I was getting into. It started with a two week orientation with our fifty staff - learning my specific job (housekeeping!), learning how to run a hospitality business, and becoming best friends with the other staff. I was riding horses, mountain biking, hiking and eating gourmet food in my off-time. And I am pretty sure that outside of the Amazon Jungle, this was the most beautiful place I have ever been. God is so stinkin' creative.

I learned a LOT about hard work this summer. We worked 9-hour days on average, 6 days a week. Not just physical labor, but the job of entertaining, too. Our off days were not Sundays - that was our busiest day, turning over the ranch for the next guests. It made me realize (surprise, surprise) that if you really want to be good at something, you have to work hard at it. There are no shortcuts that lead to perfection, and that's what our job was all about. It made me realize I want to become an expert at something. That takes hard work, like possibly grad school, but I'm now ready to work for it. I don't want to just be average. And not just so I can boast at how good I am at a skill, but so I can gain credibility among men/women to speak into their lives and actually help them. If that means becoming an expert agriculturalist so I can go to third-world countries and help them develop skills and teach them about God, I will. If that means becoming an expert counselor, researching and studying and helping people become whole so that they can see Jesus, I will. There's a lot to be learned from hard, blue-collar work every day. Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes, once said, "I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life." Mine was more like chemical stains on my bruised knees, but I still learned the lesson.

I spent the summer with four amazing women. We laughed together, we ate together, we got angry together, we cried together, we studied the Bible together, we danced together, and we sang together. I learned so much from each one of them. One of them taught me that literally everything can be funny. One taught me about being passionate. One taught me how to be goofy and wise at the same time. One taught me about really giving to other people. It was yet another reminder that community is what makes life possible. I could not have survived the summer literally or spiritually without them. And we were all so different. I love that! We learned lessons together about following leadership that is sometimes difficult. I think I learned about loving an enemy, really, for the first time this summer. I won't write too much about it here, but I'm always willing to share personally.

You should go work on a ranch. It may be the hardest thing you ever do. It may be the most fun and adventurous, too. I adored it. And now, I'm back in Athens - a city I will love forever. I'll write more about that soon.

Rach