being human

In the past few weeks I have been witness to a move, an engagement, a graduation, a homecoming, a baby dedication, a wedding, a lease, and a funeral. Emotions ran wild as I joined others I love in the celebration of new life, new marriages, and new directions. Oppositely, I grieved old houses, old life, and old memories. Julie married Robert and vowed to be his forever, Kendra wore a big robe and waved goodbye to high school, Aubrie said yes to Lance on the beaches of Santa Barbara, and movers hauled our familiar furniture up multiple flights of stairs and into a new residing space just before the rain started to fall in Wheaton. Human interaction after human interaction left me feeling grateful to have a heart that beats in my chest and breath that gives life to my lungs. What a miracle it is to be human.

Human. Something I’m finding that is as debilitating as it is freeing. Something astonishingly easy, yet terribly difficult. Something so natural in parts, and yet so foreign in others. Something we all are, but tirelessly run from.  The past few weeks have proved and prevailed the 100% human nature inside of me.

I believe that one of life’s truest and purest gifts comes when we have the courage to be human. Exposing the most vulnerable, innermost parts of our rusty, robotic selves often births the most meaningful revelations and trusted friendships.

I don’t ‘lose it’ with just anyone. There are only a select few that get to experience Kristin in all her blubbering glory. Some, by total accident (wrong place at the wrong time- apologies extended here) and some because they’ve earned it. They’ve earned the trust, the time, the right to see what I previously insisted on keeping hidden. Austin happens to be one of those people. And this past week in Chicago, my human nature was exposed deeply to him. But here’s the thing about being human… I am. And so are you.

We are lost, and broken. Weak and wounded.  Fallen and burdened, hopeless in our humanness. And at the height of my own breakdown, I got this overwhelming sense that Christ LONGS for us to be human. Because it gives us a need for a savior and a reason to be saved.  Believe me, I’ve fully embraced the bionic life of over-booked calendars, tip-toed relationships, plan b’s to the preferred plan a’s, and forced smiles that bury unresolved hurt. That life only goes so far. Jesus became human with one item on his to do list, jumped head first into meaningful relationships, would not settle for less than God’s plan A, and died to redeem this world from any hurt it would ever feel.  He lived to expose the human in us and resurrected to banish the human out of him. So today, remove yourself from the most under-qualified job you’ll ever apply for (God) and run with me in the only race we’re qualified to run. The human race.