whatever… wherever

the aisle is rather long at this point as i peer down it, almost to the horizon does it stretch. but far at end of it i can barely make out two figures inching ever so closer to me.

as this week progresses they will come still closer, and will begin to come into focus as they walk, ever clearer as they approach.

i will begin to see that my bride is coming to meet me at the alter. she is coming to take my hand in marriage. she is coming to exchange a few sacred words with me, sealing a covenant that has been for all time and will remain for all time.

as pilgrims have we up to this point individually walked our paths through this life, and pilgrims we will remain, yet now we will journey together. now we will have one another to meet and face the trials of that dangerous straight and narrow path.

now will we have each other to sharpen, taking away and refining in order to grow strong together in our journey.

now will we have a companion to know our innermost thoughts, to love and support one another like no other human being can do for us, to be transparent with one another entrusting the frailty of our human condition to the care of our sensitive and uplifting partner. allowing the other to take full responsibility for the life that we now lead.

what joy will we find in the touch, the look, the words, the laughs, the comfort and the hearts and minds of one another.

what a beautiful task. what a difficult challenge. what glory to God in and through it all. To Him be the power and glory for ever and ever, Amen.

Let’s begin.

made up of many different pieces, two become one.

i couldn’t help but reflect upon this as i was shooting some pictures of the type i used for one of the wedding projects. it seemed so profound as i was looking at all the voids from the set. all the pieces i had to pull out of their order and rearrange to complete our names. to make something one, a unified whole.

that’s what it’s about, right? on more levels than one i believe. and i hope.

it’s quite amazing. the symbolism. i think i’ll go on. you begin with a set. many individual pieces, that don’t really mean anything, yet they are a part of something. then, once you have removed them from their context you are free to create something with them.

we headed up to the mountains for some good fourth of july fun yesterday. bojangle’s was the first stop to pick up some good cajun fried chicken for a little picnic. dad knew of a covered bridge on the way that he’d been wanting to see, so we took the 20-mile detour to Campbell’s Covered Bridge, the last remaining covered bridge in south carolina. it ended up being worth the side trip. it was a quiet little area over a small creek. we set up and ate our lunch, and walked around a little before getting back on the road.

a little further into the mountains brings you to the little village town of flat rock. it’s probably most famous for being the place where Carl Sandburg called home. This, at least, was the reason we were going.

Connemara was the name of the estate which included many, many acres of land, quite a few structures in addition to the main house, a garden and a goat farm (his wife’s main interest).

he lived there from 1945 until his death in 1967.

there wasn’t any big fireworks shows that evening, but in contrast, it was nice to get away to the silence and solitude of the woods and see a little piece of american history. and as sandburg most eloquently put it,

It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness, to sit on a rock on the forest and to ask himself, ‘who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?’

dad and i drove up to rock hill last night to help uncle jerry with an addition to the house he’s been working on. we were tasked with helping to set the windows in the new addition. so we got up this morning and grabbed some coffee and cereal and got to work. it was a pretty efficient 3-man crew (4-man when joel and the boys arrived). we were finished setting all 5 windows before lunch, and had enough time to start getting the siding put up.

it was good to strap on my tool belt again, and to be outside working. it brought back quite a few memories from my days at hill-thomas builders up in blacksburg. i really do miss that kind of work. i guess it’s simply because i enjoy doing it. i love to build. it’s a great trade. there’s just nothing like working with your hands.

we got a wall put in place while we were there, got the temporary door hung, and finished all the siding before we left. we got to see it take shape quite a bit. but of course there were many, many hours of work prior to today that made that possible. it was a good time, and i’m sufficiently tired from a good days work.

it’s always nice to work with family too.

water and sky.
flowing,
rolling.
a sea of blue.
perpetual,
eternal.
shallow warmth,
deep cold.
overpowering
grandeur.
surrounding,
soothing,
rhythm.

to be part of something.

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it’s always nice to [briefly] visit the ocean. i am almost always taken in by it’s beauty. it’s not so much that i just love the beach. i’m really not a huge fan of the sun and sand and all that hoopla, i just really enjoy the ocean. the massive body of water that i only get to experience a very, very small portion of yet, because of it’s presence, knowledge of the whole body, it has this power to it.

i remember just sitting on the boardwalk when i was younger watching it. i always had to go see the ocean one last time before we left. i needed one more viewing, somehow hoping it would sustain me until we met again.

i had a couple of friends invite me up to roanoke, va this past weekend to do some photography. we all hail from the architecture program at virginia tech. them and a few other couples from their church wanted to have some portrait style pictures done. so i went up for 3 days and was able to shoot 3 couples and and 1 family during my stay. there are some great locations around roanoke, as it’s close to the blue ridge mountains, and also has a nice, old defined downtown with a lot of character. Plenty of places to choose from while looking to shoot. That is if you don’t get kicked out of any while you’re there, which we did.

it was a good chance to travel some and see old friends. i’ve begun putting some of the pictures up my photography site blog if you want to check them out. go here: sosebee photo blog.

so. here i am. dad and i safely navigated the return route back to south carolina, which primarily consisted of interstate 40. although we did stop by arab, alabama. that’s where my future wife is from. small town alabama. it’s where the upcoming wedding is going to be, so we dropped off the invitations and a few items at her parents needed for the big day. we also got to walk through the church and reception sites.

since then, i’ve been back here in mauldin, trying to figure out what the next step is going to be. this means i’ve been praying a lot for guidance, searching the internet a lot for jobs, and looking at craigslist a lot for places to live. we’ve still no clear direction on where we’re to be or what we’re to being right now. since there doesn’t seem to be any opportunities for architects at the moment (but still hoping), we’re pretty much open to anything. there’s still a few months before the wedding, and i’m sure it will all be worked out by then. it has to be, right?

we’ll just use our time as faithfully as we can, and wait to see where the Lord leads. there’s plenty of wedding prep to do and a few woodworking projects i would like to have complete by then as well. i’ll update on those later. continue to think about kristen as she has about 2 weeks left in japan. thanks. love you all.

In-n-Out burger you will be missed. Kristen and I ate there one last time this past weekend and I am going to take Dad when’s he’s out here this week for one last go round. Does anything compare on the east coast? I’m just not sure.

so ends another chapter. tonight was my last shift at augie’s coffee house in redlands, ca. it seemed timely enough when i first got out here last october. i was still looking for architecture work and in the mean time needed something to pay rent. kristen had a friend at work who’s sister worked at a coffee shop who just recently had someone quit. perfect.

so i made the drive one afternoon to meet with erica and was hired on the spot. 6 months since that day and i’ve pulled countless shots of espresso, brewed countless pots of coffee, blended way too many blended drinks, served a ton of lattes, learned to pour latte art, and the list goes on and on. but i also got to work with and meet many, many great people.

it’s an interesting thing working at a coffee shop. you see a cross-section of society. all different sorts of peoples coming together in the same place. one space. what a dynamic that is born of that. not only do you get to become someone familiar to all of them, but you get to know them, to learn and be a part of their lives. It really is a neat thing.

And then there’s the crew. Those of us behind the counter. All the hours spent watching it all happen. Watching it unfold before us. All the slow hours that seem to creep by. The conversations, the music, the madness. What memories. Thanks to each of you. I wish you the best. I’m blessed to have been a part of the Augie’s we all knew, and to have known each of you.

yet again the time is upon us. kristen’s job at cbu is coming to an end and my job at augie’s is as well (tomorrow is actually my last day). so as we have many times before, we will be saying our goodbyes and going in different directions. it’s funny how we have to leave and go different directions in life to ultimately get back to one point, back to one person.

i’ll (my dad will be accompanying me) be driving back to south carolina at the end of this month to pursue any kind of architecture job and kristen will be leaving for japan (leading a team of students). upon her return at the end of may she will head back to alabama for the last couple months before the wedding.

so, we find ourselves in the all too familiar situation of saying goodbye for a short time, but counting the days until we’ll be together for good. it’s definitely getting closer and closer and we couldn’t be more excited.

we will hopefully find out in these next few months where we’ll be working and living after we get married. as this is still such a huge unknown, please keep it in your prayers, that some doors will open and that we will have our eyes wide open to see them when they do.