Wicked Chicago

So . . . I just cannot stand all the iniquity in the world today and need to go off on the state of wickedness in Chicago . . .

No, that is not the latest crazy idea in my life! I actually decided to celebrate my 30th birthday by going to Chicago with some friends to see the musical Wicked. I had been meaning to see it for a few years and almost went a couple times in new york, but something always kept me from going (can we say demasiada plata!).

So we went down on Friday to an evening show at the Ford Theatre. SO appropriate!

Can you tell how blown away we were by the show? Maybe it was just the fatigue . . .

Really, though it was a amazing show. I think I would rank it as my 2nd all-time favorite just behind Les Miserables. Yes, it is the story of the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. But it is more about the circumstances of her life that tried to make her wicked and how in the end it was more the society she lived in that was wicked rather than her. The music is great and it has some interesting commentaries around the above theme.

The next day we decided to walk around Chicago and went to the Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

We also spent some time at Milennium Park where there are these weird electronic fountains that have images of people with the water coming out where their mouths are. Kinda creepy! But it was warm and the water felt really good!

But I have to say I loved the Bean - it is this huge bean shaped mirror sculpture in the park and you can take some cool pictures!

All in all . . . it was great. I love the city and there are a ton more things we could've done. I need to go back. It also helped me overcome my small personal crisis of turning 30. Honestly, I did not expect to have any issues because I didn't feel any different. But the 2 weeks before my birthday I really kinda struggled with the whole thing. I kept trying to figure out why, until I realized that it was really a matter of disharmony between something I had held in my unconscious expectations and reality. After my mission, I struggled for a couple years with not getting married until I finally realized that it wasn't about something I was NOT doing - I just had to trust in the Lord and His timing. But I realize now that I still had somewhere in the back of my mind a timeline . . . at least by the time I'm 30, if I have faith, if I do what I should be doing. So, turning 30 and being single was a blow that wasn't even conscious. It brought back all the struggles from right after my mission - am I not doing what I should be doing? DO I not have enough faith? Am I not good enough? I had to truly decide to trust the Lord's timing - WHATEVER it may be - not as long as it's within 5 years, not as long as it's in this lifetime even. Now, does this mean I'm giving up? No. But I have to be willing to accept the timing of the Lord, even if it is after this life. And I had never truly gotten to the point of accepting that after my mission. I had merely accepted that it wasn't now.

So, I guess this helps me as I am starting a few things - a PhD in the spring, another coaching season, etc. I can't just wait - for anything. I will be who I allow the Lord to make me through His grace and my efforts to lay everything at His altar and serve His children.

Oh, that reminds me of something cool. This last week one of my customers at work called me asking if I would be interested in joining a committee or possibly the board at a non-profit where she's on the board. It is 826michigan - a group that helps kids learn to how to write and express themselves through writing. I love to write and they need someone with OD/HR experience to help them, so it'll be fun! I meet with them this next week, but it sounds like they are experiencing some of the typical small organization challenges. I've been thinking that maybe this is one area I want to work in when I do consulting - small to medium business and non-profit.

Well, gotta go. Today is a cider mill trip and Jakob's birthday party! I can't believe how big all my nieces and nephews are getting - but I hope they really know how much I love them! I laugh sometimes when my sisters have asked if I mind watching them or if the kids are around, etc. I guess for me it is a chance to love! I learned in Louisville that joy comes from loving, not being loved and my nieces and nephews always let me just love them.