How Are You? I’m good.

This question carries more weight lately. A friend asked me with worried eyes from her van, “How are you?” My family and I nodded, “We’re good.” We looked at each other to confirm–more nodding, “Yeah, we’re good. You know.”  As in, you know what we mean by “good,” right?

We’re good in the ways that you can be good when you don’t know what’s coming next. We’re good in the way that we feel like we are living in a movie where the audience knows what’s coming next, but the characters have no idea. We’re good in the way that I keep thinking that I can hear someone through the screen yelling at me, “Look out! Don’t go that way! Oh my gosh! She did it?! Why would she do that?”  –Which makes me say, “I’m good” with giantly wide open eyes.

So sometimes I feel a little crazy. Call it stir crazy or call it anxiety; it’s there.

But we are also good in other ways.

We’re good in the way that we get to be more intentional with our prayers and our devotions. We’re good in the way that we get to kiss each other goodnight every night.
We’re good in the way that we are trying new recipes and perfecting our bread making skills. We’re good in the way that we aren’t letting conflicts fester, but offering swift and salvy sorry’s.

We’re good in some ways and less good in other ways. But still, challenges, stir crazies and all, we’re good.

We’re good because we can grow from this. We’re good because we can adjust our dreams from this. We’re good because we can uncover parts of us that have been hiding for too long. We’re good because God is good and his steadfast love endures from generation to generation.

So I’m putting my oxygen mask on every morning–sometimes in the afternoon, too. I’m writing. I’m praying. I’m reading. I’m smelling lilacs and noticing buds on branches. I’m sitting down with no agenda to play Calico Critters with my daughter. These things give me oxygen to take another step forward and be good.