Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'One can't believe impossible things.'

I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast".

 ~Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll


I have loved the Alice tales since I can remember hearing stories. Riddles, wit, nonsense, dreaming, curiosity, adventure, poetry... I love them.
Having caught a nasty illness, I spent most of last week in bed; while there I watched Tim Burton's Alice and Disney's Alice... because... why not?
Having moved into a new, completely unfurnished apartment recently... with other... non furniture nomads... I've been on pintrest a lot, dreaming about how to frugally and artfully arrange my new home.
Some of my best friends in Missoula have been visiting a church they enjoy, so I've been tagging along. We sit in a large space with a lot of strangers, feeling the comfort of camaraderie, and listen to the pastor get all fired up about how beautiful the Christian world view is.

In a way, the Bible is a fairy tale, as Alice is, as Cinderella and King Arthur are. And why shouldn't it be? For stories stitch our being together. Words that mean something to us, stir our souls, shape the world we believe we're living in. Epic tales of adventure, hope ... impossible things happening. And we, as students of stories, begin to believe this adventure, hope, impossible things.... miracles... can happen to us too! Our very own story.

I believe them all. I know this makes me silly, full of nonsense to many people. But let me tell you... in my near thirty years of life, what others find impossible, often becomes possible for me. Miracles. Blessing. And I am nothing but awed and grateful in the wonder of it all.

Recent events.... Six impossible things ....

1. I found dog-friendly, affordable housing and community to share it with in the only city I wanted to live in!

2. My new home is on the river, in a gorgeous mountain canyon, across the grass from my best friend's Mom and now we see each other often!

3. I have a new job where I'm paid to learn and share about river recovery and restoration, and a little independent contracting on the side for an organization I'm super excited about.

4. After ten years of purging my possessions every move to only keep what fits in my car... I'm now the proud new owner of a truck and trailer full of furniture a best friend needed to unload.... and all it cost me were phone calls, emails, catching up with old friends and sharing chili dinner with the movers/ new friends.

5. My longest, dearest friends in Missoula have all sat in Church with me! And hopefully will again soon!

6. Last year was hard on Geronimo and the CR-V. They're both hanging tough, doing well, carrying me through the beginning of yet another life chapter.

I've never read much formally on the power of positivity... but I know this...

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

~Romans 5, ESV Bible

Hope, does not put us to shame. It's all possible. My cup overflows, my heart could burst.

So... the only question is - what have you been practicing? I recommend believing impossible things before breakfast... and using the rest of the day to bring the dream into your reality.