Micah's Thirteen

Looking back over the last 13 weeks, I pulled together this Word Art that showed some of the words that popped up the most as I have written these little reflections for you.  These last 13 weeks were not what I expected in that I could not run and I was not able to complete a race in your honor as I had planned last spring; however, I began this journey with the word "expectant."  And I can say that what I received along the way is that I have learned to be more flexible, to look for possibilities, and to re-frame a lot of my thinking. And through it all, I can affirm that message of the flags that God is with me has been such a gift and has sustained me.  There was so much JOY last night at your birthday gathering,  and there were so many people there who love you so.  May that deep JOY, the reminder that you are so LOVED  and the truth that God is WITH you  carry you each and every day.  ❤ HAPPY THIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY! 

This morning, I was so excited to go decorate the your porch for your 13th birthday today.   (Some background information is needed here about this crazy monkey! :) A family who moved into our neighborhood a few doors down from us this summer was renovating their house, and they put out a bunch of things in the alley that they did not have room for including a giant stuffed monkey that was practically brand new. Jason brought it home thinking we could use it for a random prank, but I knew it would be the perfect addition to the birthday decor for you so we have had it saved in our garage for months for this morning's surprise.)  Your mom found me on your porch still decorating when she came back from her run this morning....  Discovering the birthday surprises this morning before school  birthday surprise party     ice cream cake we made together on Sunday :)  Wrapped up in your birthday blanket 

Over the last 13 weeks, if you have not heard anything else,  I hope that this has been LOUD AND CLEAR:  I am so grateful for you, Micah, and I hope that these words and pictures and reflections will always be a reminder that you are so very loved....   

It's TWO days until your birthday so we made an ice cream cake to celebrate....  so excited for this big day!!!  This 13 week birthday countdown has been such a treat  and we are almost there!!! 

“If you look at what you have in life, you will always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you will never have enough. “ -Oprah Winfrey From Max Carver: ---------------------------------------  Our family decided to give Micah some Star Wars words to live by, since our families have enjoyed so many Star Wars movies and moments together. “Compassion, which is defined as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life.” – Anakin Skywalker Love, Nicole, Andy, Theo and Zoe  -------------------------------------   Micah- What a blessing it is to have known you most of your 13 years on this earth!  We give thanks for your intellect, curiosity, kindness, and high-pitched giggle laugh. May God shine a light on your steps and safeguard your mental, physical and spiritual well-being as you become a teen and beyond. We are grateful for you in our lives. With love and affection, Tamara, Dave, Eva, and Isaac   -------------...

  Peace surround you, always. Kindness and Joy in your soul, always. Curiosity and learning be your happiness, always. Adventure and nature around you, always. Music and beauty to lift you up, always Know you are cherished and loved, always.        Love, Grams -------------------------------- “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” -Shirley Chrisholm Love, Grandma Christine --------------------------------     “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” -John Muir Love, Erica, Matt, Riley, Greta   --------------------------------   Dear Micah, “May the road always rise up to meet you and the sun be always at your back!”  I know great things are in your future. Happy 13th Birthday! I love you! Auntie Alison   ------------------------------- To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of ...

  I have been so grateful for prayers, blessings, and quotes that have been coming in as we are now less than a week from your 13th birthday!!! Over the next few days, I will be sharing the wonderful words for you here as you turn 13 from your fan club..... sneak peek of your blanket for your birthday!  “It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strongman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timi...

A favorite song that came to mind when I was swimming today thinking and praying for you: https://youtu.be/gbQ6Lfh5L14 It's so unusual it's frightening You see right through the mess inside me And you call me out to pull me in You tell me I can start again And I don't need to keep on hidin' I'm fully known and loved by You You won't let go no matter what I do And it's not one or the other It's hard truth and ridiculous grace To be known fully known and loved by You I'm fully known and loved by You It's so like You to keep pursuing It's so like me to go astray But You guard my heart with Your truth A kind of love that's bullet proof And I surrender to Your kindness I'm fully known and loved by You You won't let go no matter what I do And it's not one or the other It's hard truth and ridiculous grace To be known fully known and loved by You I'm fully known and loved by You How real, how wide How rich, how high is Your he...

  Happy World Gratitude Day!  On this day, I AM GIVING THANKS FOR YOU, MICAH RILEY HUTCHINSON! What are you thankful for today?  " Gratitude is resilience of sorts, the defiance of kindness in the face of anger, of connection in the face of division, and of hope in the face of fear. . . Gratitude empowers us. It makes joy and love possible. It rearranges the way we see and experience what is all around us. Gratitude makes all things new. It transforms how we understand what is broken and gives us the ability to act more joyfully and with hope. That is why gratitude is central to all the world’s religions. As a practice, it embodies the wisdom of humanity’s greatest spiritual teachers: the love of neighbor. Gratitude takes us from abstract belief to living compassion in the world.  Gratitude is strongest, clearest, most robust, and radical when things are really hard. Really hard. All-is-lost hard.  Gratefulness isn’t easy and isn’t all hearts-and-flowers. It can...

This week, I was only able to run a few days, and when I did run, I was only running 10 sets of 10 strides each after a short warm up of speed walking.  While I would love to be able to run my regular Sunday morning routine with your mom this morning, I know that I have got to take this slow and steady.  As you get back into the groove of being in school, seeing friends, and getting into a routine, I am hoping and praying that you are finding your stride (even if it seems to be taking small steps back to the way things used to be....) 

A lot of times, when things don't go according to plan, people refer to needing to go with"Plan B," but I recently read about an author who called it " Plan Be" which was about pivoting to being more present in life.   And I love that. As small as it was to be injured this summer and not be able to run a race as I had hoped for your birthday, the plan that fell into place did allow me to do other things to stay active, to find creative ways to have adventures with Anna before she went to college, to learn more about nutrition and wellness, and to be present with what was in front of me.  What might a "Plan Be" look like for you the next time things don't go quite the way you planned? 

I got up early this morning, threw on my wetsuit (as it was in the 50's this morning), and headed out to Green Lake. I was swimming the same path that I swam the first day I swam and marked 13 weeks until your birthday , and I found myself praying for you once again and wondering what other things might come to mind for you as it's now only 2 weeks until your big day!!!  I thought of you turning 13 and then thought of Psalm 139 as we had Anna and Taylor memorize that passage when they were turning 13.  Here's the psalm put to music from someone we knew when we lived in Nashville singing with the African Children's Choir from Uganda. I think you will really like it and that it will bring back some memories of your time in Malawi.  https://youtu.be/n8tOSRJ90BM May you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made  and may you trust God to lead you and guide you all your days.... 

On Friday, I went to my sports medicine doctor who gave me clearance to run again after three months off from my stress fracture. While I will be building back up very slowly, it was fun to run a tiny bit on the trails on Saturday. I hiked most of the 11 miles, but I picked short parts of the trail to run for 30 seconds every once in a while.   The views from Cutthroat Pass are so spectacular that it's actually a shame in the race that folks work hard to run up that mountain only to hurry down to the finish line. The best part for me on Saturday was that since I was not officially racing, when I got to the top, I explored for about 20 minutes and soaked up the 360 degree views before leaving the mountaintop. There was so much beauty and so much to be grateful for!  I wonder where there might be times to not be so concerned about racing to the finish but taking time to stop and enjoy the view.  May God give you eyes to see and celebrate the world around you.  Pau...

I read a quote that said, "Go where you feel most alive," and I think that this weekend was that for us as we had a get away in the Methow for the Cutthroat race. I loved thinking and praying for you on the trails as I know how alive you felt this summer on your backpacking trips.  Emily, Paula, Elizabeth and Erica  and they're off! 

  This goes along with yesterday's message.  You always have a choice to turn away from God and others or to turn towards them.  I hope you will have the courage to turn towards......

  It takes a willingness to admit we were wrong and we might feel shame for some of the things we've done, but never let anything get in the way of you being able to run back to God..... He is there waiting with his arms open wide ready to receive you with love. 

As I said yesterday, this amazing truth can be easy to forget.  You are a unique, unrepeatable, miracle of God.   

  As you jump into middle school and high school (and beyond), you will have a lot of voices around you clamoring for your attention, and you get to choose who you listen to. I hope that you will allow that voice that reminds you that "YOU ARE LOVED" to be loud and clear, as sometimes that is hard to hear and we can forget this most beautiful truth and treasure. 

  I know there are some very sweet pictures of you growing up with your mom and dad holding you by the hand, and I love this reminder that God has been teaching us to walk and has been leading us by the hand every step of the way.... 

With only a few weeks left until your birthday, I am trying to be thoughtful about what else to pass along to you in these remaining days. I'm coming back to the book Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing to leave you with a few more gifts of these words and pictures.  I chose this one because of how you love to dance and because of how I love to watch you dance! It's a beautiful thing knowing that God made you for the dance.....