Every Time I Turn It On...

Andy, Asia, myself & Beth | Sometime between 12 and 1 in the morning | February 10th, 2013

This is the picture that I see every time I turn on the computer.

I love it, but not just because it's a picture of a few of my dear friends.

I love it because it's a picture of the power of Jesus, the work of His hands.

I love it because it shows a healthy, healed Asia.

I love it because though Andy is sick, he's still smiling and still proclaiming that God is good.

I love it because Beth and I are standing together, like we did for 3 weeks straight.

I love it because this group- we prayed together every day, all the time.

I love it because though we all had bad days, though we all were tired and messy, we stood by each others' side through it all.

I love it because we laughed and cried, worshiped, sang, and prayed- together.

I love it because we fell on the rock of Jesus Christ everyday, and clung to it for precious refuge.

I love it because we got to work together all year long, and watch so many God stories of Asia's senior year.

I love it because it brings back so many memories of one of us going to another and exclaiming, "Guess what God just did!"

And I love it because each of them showed me the love of Jesus, and I praise Him that we got to be His hands and feet to each other every day.

I love it, because I am blessed.

(Yes, My Fair Lady closed back in February, and I'm just now writing about it. Better late than never. :) I've been waiting to post until I had more pictures (*hint* you know who you are), but I decided to go ahead with just this one.)

Are You Really Okay?

We're standing in the dusk of backstage left when her searching eyes look into mine. "Linds, are you okay?"

I jump to assure her that I am, that I'm "fine."

Source

Her eyes pierce deeper. "You hide things."

I know. oh, how I know.

"I hope you do tell things to some one."

ouch.

Her words haunt me for the rest of the night and into the next morning.  She's right. I hide things deep, shovel "I'm fine"s on top, because I'm scared of being hurt. again.

She won't hurt me. She loves me. She's my friend.

And she's worth the truth.

Source

It's easy to feel like she won't care, but she does.

It's so easy to feel like she's too busy, has too much stress to handle my little problems. I mean, she's Eliza! in My Fair Lady! She has enough to think about.

But the truth is, I'm hurting her by my hiding.

I only have a week and a half left of this show with her, before she's graduated from HPA forever.

Do I really want this last show to be tainted with my lies? Or will I share, deepen our trust?

It's in the dark of night that I resolve.

And when I see her in a few hours, after we hug and she tells me how practice has gone so far, when she looks into my eyes and asks "And how are you?"

She's going to get the truth.

The whole truth.

Every time.

Because she's worth it.

A Team

During Fiddler, one of my favorite memories is just remembering the camaraderie between all 6 members of the devotion team. Yes, we had been chosen by the directors as a group, but we were more than a team.

We were friends.

When we were together, God was there with us. When one of us gave devotions to the cast, the rest of us were behind that one, praying. When we had a problem or prayer request or a praise, that was the group we'd take it to.

Together, we were set-apart. 

Praying before closing night- in various stages of costuming

This year, our team is different. Janae graduated, Tanner has gone other directions, Chase is in Seussical, but Asia, Abby and I are still here. together. And we've added two guys, Andy and Jamie to our midst.

and it's incredible what God has done.

I hadn't realized just how much I depended on these people. They were the ones who I could always go to. They were always there.

But on Thursday, practice was a little different. Andy was gone, due to being sick, and Asia sprained her back and was taken away in an ambulance early in our practice.

HPA wasn't the same. Abby and I didn't know what to do- how to go about our day- without these two critical members of our group. It was as if our little family had been ripped apart.

And in those moments, Jesus reminded me to never, ever, take someone for granted. Asia showed us all how quickly someone can be perfectly healthy one moment, and gone away in a flash of red light the next.

So look around you. Find the people whom are stable. and imagine your life without them.

Then thank Jesus that that picture isn't reality.

And hug those people extra tight next time you see them.

"Without Our Traditions..."

"Our lives would be as shaky as... As a Fiddler on the Roof!" bum, bum, bum. Boom, Boom. The music still echoes through my head. And it will still. for years. but I'm okay with that. :)

Getting ready for Fruma-Sarah to come back from the grave

Being goofy :P

Elizabeth!!!!

Abby-Doodle and I

It would have been scandalous for a Russian Jewish girl to even look at a Catholic priest, much less wear his hat. But, as you can see, I am a very scandalous daughter.

My and Katherine's pre-show dance... another one of my favorite traditions

Our devotion committee praying before devotions one evening... this was one of my favorite parts of the entire day.

Crew and Libby

Brye... and a random penguin found sitting on a stool

The tv in the makeup room

Our amazing bottledancers

6 perfect shows... never dropping a bottle

My family :)

Full cast, crew and staff. If we had been missing a single person, none of this would have been possible. (And Breilen's sign reads "Peter Sinko..." Peter was really, really sick and so had to be represented in that way. :) )

Little Women~ A Remembrance

This was written last December... Yes, I still do miss these people, but it's okay now. I've moved on, but the memories are still deliciously sweet. I'm so excited for this year and the memories that are to come. More on HPA soon. :)

Little Women has officially been over for a week.

Well, a week, a day, 11 hours and 34 minutes if you want to get technical.

But if you want the truth, it feels like months.

People say I have four more years ahead of me, but that’s not true. I’ll never have that cast again. I could go on about that fact for hours, but we’ll dwell on happier thoughts for the moment.

Little Women was amazing and I loved every minute. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Those moments during a hour and a half dance practice where you do the same step over and over again? I want them back!

The times half way through a show when you just want to sleep? I want them back!

The times when you have to go to the bathroom because you drank 3 bottles of water but you have 80 costume pieces tied around you? I want them back!

Why? because it would mean that I was there. in C----------. with my cast. and we would be having the time of our lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I miss sitting in that back corner of the make-up room with Arie, Maddie, Breanne and Brooklyn.

I miss reading Rachel’s new book entitled Letters to Jeremy and watching other people die laughing over it.

I miss Betts’ inhumanly-quick (23 second) change that Alli and I had down-pat.

I miss Asia’s hugs and I miss whispering those little words of encouragement to her.

I miss opening the make-up room door to let cool air in while I pray for the previously mentioned person.

I miss talk of calories, crashing and burning, atrociousness, and joining the circus.

I miss the prayer that surrounded us and the pumping-it-up afterwards.

But most of all, I just miss the people. They are so wonderful and I was so blessed to be a part of them.

Little Women changed my life.

I will never be the same.