Tis indeed what I work in. I sit at a desk at one end of a PT gym with tall windows all the way around the walls in front of me and over on the opposite right. Although my view is obstructed in part by this screen, and by the various hulking MedX machines that line the extremities of the room and fill the interior, I still have a relatively clear view of the area surrounding my building.
What is this view? Well. Directly in from of me is a busy parking lot that never stops shuffling with cars, pedestrians, wheelchairs and crutches, an occasional ambulance and stretcher, oxygen truck or Shred-it pick up guy. Beyond that is a tall parking garage that I watched arise right out of the dirt. To its right is the Howard General Hospital that will never complete renovations and an assortment of PODS, trailers and ModSpace storage units. Out the far right side is the new "Medical Pavilion" which houses a rival PT clinic (it has tvs and everything), labs, doctors and the like, and very soon will have an exciting Cafe.
These are the surroundings that I am privileged to be able to see for some 40 hours a week. Most months out of the year the only thing that changes is the size/shape/number of cars... But then, right around late September or early to mid October, something extraordinary happens.
Brilliancy appears.
Charter Drive is escorted along by a sentry row of standard green trees that never seem to do anything but stand there looking... like trees. Our parking lot is hedged in by a low fence of short boxy, dense shrubs that are varying shades of green and brown that go almost entirely unnoticed for most of the year. But then, Fall arrives, and Charter drive and our humble little parking lot become a part of something magnificent. They become beautiful.
The standard boring trees, in mere days, explode in a magnificent representation of sunlight, as the foliage relinquishes its chlorophyll and becomes what it naturally is without it: Yellow.
The low shrubs that sit in an almost sulking row about the lot, stand up straighter and decide to make themselves known. They inhale deeply of the crisp, refreshing breeze, and blush with excitement as they feel its tingle. They ignite in exuberance and turn a brilliant shade of scarlet, no longer content to be a subdued brownish green.
Though I can only see patches of this loveliness, it never ceases to brighten my view for several weeks, and make my drive out like strolling down the red carpet. Fall makes the ordinary magnificent, the drab, the gorgeous and worthy of a long look.
To me, what happens in Fall is a picture of redemption. Something ordinary transformed in a into something extraordinary. Watching leaves change, can be like watching a character change into something beautiful, something you would overlook, now stands apart.
Yep. I love Fall. Thank You Father for the glory of the season.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
And So It Begins...
Summer has come and gone. The months that I have dreamed about and waited for have flown by in a beautiful blur and it is now the early beginning of fall. I can't get over how quickly this year has passed. So much has changed and so much has yet to change. Life is Huger in every way than it has ever been.
All that was, still is, except now:
I am the excited expectant mother of a little tiny girl, due to be born on March 13th, 2010.
Somewhere in the middle of me is the beating heart and growing fingers and toes of a little baby Abel that followed us home from Hawaii. She has bones. And fingers. And a spinal cord. And a nervous system. And a nose. And eyes. And all of her little baby insides. She is working on fingernails and fuzz, and starting to think about breathing. She can hear me talk to her and sense light moving on the outside of her cozy little bubble. She can make her presence felt and wiggle her perfect tiny fingers. And all of this in 4 amazing months.
What an incredible thing life is. Into a completely lifeless something, God can breathe life. He can create a soul where there was nothing. Give a meaning, calling and divine purpose to an exquisite set of cells and call them one of His children. He can look at that formless potential and see all the days He ordained for HER when she has not yet lived one of them. He can hear what her voice will sound like, He knows how many hairs she will manage to grow before she makes her grand appearance. He knew that His little baby was a daughter for Ryan and Ruth Abel even before our parents were around.
What an enormous gift.
He gave us a piece of His heart to learn to love and care for. He gave us a precious priceless creation that could only be bought by the blood of His Son. He gave her to us. He is even now, knitting her together as only He knows how, breathing into her all of His love and creativity and passion for life.
She is His before she is ours. She has a purpose and a specific part to play before we even knew she was there. She will have her own opinion. She will have her own tastes and thoughts and preferences and ideas. And God has given us the responsibility to form her perceptions of who He is. Of what it means to live. Of who she herself is. Of why she is here. Of what Love is. I can not even begin to process how huge that is. What a responsibility.
God has given us the opportunity to understand a little bit more how much He loves us, and not only that, but how much He loves Jesus. We have been given a glimpse into the heart of our Father.
All that was, still is, except now:
I am the excited expectant mother of a little tiny girl, due to be born on March 13th, 2010.
Somewhere in the middle of me is the beating heart and growing fingers and toes of a little baby Abel that followed us home from Hawaii. She has bones. And fingers. And a spinal cord. And a nervous system. And a nose. And eyes. And all of her little baby insides. She is working on fingernails and fuzz, and starting to think about breathing. She can hear me talk to her and sense light moving on the outside of her cozy little bubble. She can make her presence felt and wiggle her perfect tiny fingers. And all of this in 4 amazing months.
What an incredible thing life is. Into a completely lifeless something, God can breathe life. He can create a soul where there was nothing. Give a meaning, calling and divine purpose to an exquisite set of cells and call them one of His children. He can look at that formless potential and see all the days He ordained for HER when she has not yet lived one of them. He can hear what her voice will sound like, He knows how many hairs she will manage to grow before she makes her grand appearance. He knew that His little baby was a daughter for Ryan and Ruth Abel even before our parents were around.
What an enormous gift.
He gave us a piece of His heart to learn to love and care for. He gave us a precious priceless creation that could only be bought by the blood of His Son. He gave her to us. He is even now, knitting her together as only He knows how, breathing into her all of His love and creativity and passion for life.
She is His before she is ours. She has a purpose and a specific part to play before we even knew she was there. She will have her own opinion. She will have her own tastes and thoughts and preferences and ideas. And God has given us the responsibility to form her perceptions of who He is. Of what it means to live. Of who she herself is. Of why she is here. Of what Love is. I can not even begin to process how huge that is. What a responsibility.
God has given us the opportunity to understand a little bit more how much He loves us, and not only that, but how much He loves Jesus. We have been given a glimpse into the heart of our Father.
rA.
A Brief History of The Past Few Months
Friday, 12 June 2009
"I'm gooooing to the chapel and I'm, gooona get maaaaried!"
I am sitting in my living room with piles of bags, suitcases and boxes, waiting for my fiance to come pick me up. Today we leave for Hollywood, and the day after tomorrow, WE GET MARRIED! I am such a whirl of adrenaline, excitement, hunger, littlebitahstress and WHAAAHOOO that it is giving me a headache. I will be Mrs. Ryan Abel in two days. I absolutely can not wait to be married to him. He is such a dream come true. God is continuing to make little things (and big things) fall together and bless and bless and bless. I am in awe of His faithfulness and love for me. Monday morning, we will be leaving our hotel to fly to Hawaii for THREE WEEKs. I shall return early July!Ruth Spinolo for only
1 Day 6 Hours 30 Minutes
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Life in July of Two Thousand Nine
I highly recommend married life. There is something quite extraordinary about it that quite surpasses the ordinary everyday and turns life into something far more... satisfying. Yes, I acknowledge that I have been hitched for a mere month and a week, but I am quite enjoying my state of wedded bliss. I am determined to do more than whatever it takes to ensure that this is maintained beyond the "inexperienced, newlywed phase."June 14th, 2009
Was a day I can not describe, not becuase It went by in a blur, quite the contrary. God answered my prayer and allowed me to fully experience the day He gave me day moment by moment. Tyring to put a day so full of beauty and and love and happines into words would be futile, so I simply will not attempt it!
Hawaii was in a word: Euphoric.
I have never experienced such a prolonged period of relaxing, peaceful freedom. We slept in, we ate out, we laughed ceaselessly, we cruised over roads a literal 2 inches wider than our convertible up blind harpin, cliffside turns , we climbed active volcanoes, we sat by waterfalls, snorkeled in one of the top reefs in the world, sauntered through cozy touristy towns late at night, listened to waves crashing on the beach, mistook sea turtles for sandy rocks, drove arround the entire coast of Maui, swam at Waikiki, and flew over Napalii coast in Kauaii in a mini plane. Three weeks of Honeymooning. It was enough to adjust to and bond with island life, and leaving was like ripping off a bandaid. Back to Reality.
But surprisingly, "real" life has been far more enjoyable then I expected. My job has become simply exhausting, no longer a dreaded stress, my condo has become Home, my life has changed to Our life: Blessed Beyond Description. I am currently trying to find the rythm of the everyday hidden underneath all of this newness, but it remains illusive. Everywhere I turn, I am given yet another blessing that continues to prolong the sense of "too good to be true." What a Father I have.
I love my husband. I love my home. Life is beyond good!
But surprisingly, "real" life has been far more enjoyable then I expected. My job has become simply exhausting, no longer a dreaded stress, my condo has become Home, my life has changed to Our life: Blessed Beyond Description. I am currently trying to find the rythm of the everyday hidden underneath all of this newness, but it remains illusive. Everywhere I turn, I am given yet another blessing that continues to prolong the sense of "too good to be true." What a Father I have.
I love my husband. I love my home. Life is beyond good!
Ruth Abel
A Change?
So I believe the time has come for an upgrade. After years on the now Myspacy Xanga, I think my heart is ready to leave all the posts and comments of the past behind and start afresh on a gloriously ad free page. I am afraid that I will never do this if I require myself to go through an introductory phase; I must launch right into it and blog away as if this is was the place I always expelled my urge to write.
Sadly, I feel like I am leaving something behind by abandoning my former place of rambling. No comments are left to me anymore, and all of my fellow Xangians have abandoned me for exclusive use of Facebook and/or Myspace. Yet, that empty space feels a little more like home than this empty space. I think to help myself "move in" I will post a few of my previous thoughts, just so that I won't feel lonely and without history here...
Sadly, I feel like I am leaving something behind by abandoning my former place of rambling. No comments are left to me anymore, and all of my fellow Xangians have abandoned me for exclusive use of Facebook and/or Myspace. Yet, that empty space feels a little more like home than this empty space. I think to help myself "move in" I will post a few of my previous thoughts, just so that I won't feel lonely and without history here...
And so it begins.
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