fire.

Growing up, I was terrified our house was going to catch on fire. I watched the Sesame Street episode about fires and how Maria's house burned down and the little kid (who's probably like 35 today) knew exactly what to do. Crawled under the smoke. Out the window. To safety. And then in the next scene, the house was fine.

Not the case for so many people in Colorado Springs today.

A terrifying fire has touched the lives of all of my co-workers in the Springs. This morning our offices there are under the mandatory evacuation. I've seen some of the most terrifying photos come across my facebook feed of homes burning around the people taking them. These are people that I know. That I love. And some of them are leaving their homes for the last time.

This weekend at church, we talked about faith. And how in everything, God is still God. He can be trusted, even in the middle of complete and total tragedy.

But honestly, that's hard to say when you're losing everything.
And that's the thing about God... He's big enough to handle our anger. our questions. our doubts.
And He's still God.

identity

For the last week I've been at camp in Nebraska with just over 100 middle school students. Yep. I am crazy. I know. I walked away ... more like limped away... from the week with no less than a dozen bruises, a decent tan, and no voice.

One of my students said, "I just want a boyfriend. I don't even know why. I just... feel like I need one."
So she found one.
She's not searching for a good guy. Or even a cute one. Any one will do. 

Girls love being loved. And they're looking for it to be the thing that defines them.
Who are they without a boyfriend?
Who are they without someone who constantly pays attention to them?
Who are they if no one wants them?


And so we throw ourselves at guys. We hope that they like us back. We flirt. And smile. And see who responds. It doesn't matter if the guy isn't a good guy. It doesn't matter if he's cute. It doesn't even really matter if we like him or not.

What matters is... we're loved. Someone cares about us. Texts us. Calls to say hi. Wants to hold hands. Pays attention.

Unfortunately.... they all fail.We all do.
Because ultimately what gives us our identity isn't who we're with. 
It's Who we were made by.

And I'm not always good at remembering that either. But I'm not in middle school anymore. My relationship status doesn't define who I am.