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Melissa Zaldivar

Some things are temporary. Some things are eternal.

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About Melissa

Melissa is a dream defender, Truth cheerleader and a lover of Jesus, sandwiches, and all things ordinary. She currently resides in Nashville, TN.

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Sometimes I forget Christ is a constant companion. When I’m microwaving a solo meal or going on a run or reading a new book or eating a little chocolate while I edit photos from a day of walking around with a new friend. Sometimes I forget Christ is a constant companion when I’m spending my nights working or needing to shop for groceries or unsure of what the future holds on multiple fronts. Sometimes I forget Christ is a constant companion when I haven’t talked to another human for a whole day or my watch is telling me to breath or friends are off traveling to squeeze in more summertime adventures or there’s a storm coming in as the skies grow dark. And the night comes and it feels a bit heavy and the day starts to yawn and look at its watch. And the temperature stays high as I lie on my stomach, hoping to catch a breeze. And I look at my bookshelf and wonder if I’ll be by myself on nights like this until I step foot on the shores of Eternity. And then, the ache pauses for a moment as I remember: Christ is a constant companion. Thanks be to God.

There is a tree outside of my writing room window that has been itching to get to autumn. Summer has been long and I’m still loving it because summer is my favorite season but it’s a sweet little reminder that sooner than we may realize it’ll be fall again. I’ve been thinking about how to document these seasons and so here’s what I want us to do. Instead of getting cynical (because we often love to do that during change) let’s get joyful. Tell me: what did you LOVE about summer and what will you LOVE about autumn?

#dearmarriedfriends, I see you there. Another transition. A new school year. The end of summer. The endless scramble to get it all done. I honestly don’t know how to help. I can help with bedtime and meals and other things. But this routine-shifting leaves me a bit on the outskirts. So I just want you to know: I want to help but I’m not sure how. There are a lot of things we can do together. Prepping meals, reading to your kids, going for ice cream. But then there are things that only you can do. And that’s what I hope you’ll cherish today. Only you can teach and grow certain things in your kiddos. Only you can speak certain words and give certain assurances. Your role with your kiddos is so sacred and unique. And guess what? Yeeeeears from now, they’ll have noticed how you weren’t perfect but you were there. Right now it’s chaos and yelling for them to not run into the parking lot. But one day, they’ll zip up their vests on their own and they won’t have to be carried around and they’ll know how to do their own hair. Because you slowly, and verrrry repetitively taught them in the moments only you could teach. Today I’m cheering you on and praying that even though things might seem a little crazy-making (hello, early wake ups and school shopping and endless paperwork) in this moment, it’s giving them tools to know that they are seen and loved and they matter enough to take the time. Thank you for taking the time, even when it feels daunting. Love, Melissa P. S. I know some of y’all are single parents. Not all are married. I see you too! I just needed to use the hashtag for the series. Love y’all.

I have five nieces and a nephew. If you need a solid dose of humility, ask them what they think when your book comes in the mail. She led with “look, I got a new book!” (Which was a kids book from the library lol) and then she went ahead and let me know that there’s room for improvement. Obviously sister also knows that curly hair only has a few good hair days in the summertime.

I write next to passages when I hear them taught or preached. It’s a way of remembering. Today, I was trying to get recentered on Christ and came acrosss this passage. Psalm 1 just lays out what actually matters: don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked. Don’t act like the sinners or scoffers, delight on the law of the Lord. There are two ways of being and it’s not like the culture tells you. It’s not that one way is easy and sweet and nice and pleasant and the other is bitter and nasty and staunch. No, sometimes the way of sinners looks a whole lot easier and rosy and enjoyable. And sometimes the way of Christ is messy and hard and alienating. So rather than going with our gut of what WE want to do, we have to do refocus on what HE commands. We have to know this book—and not just the part where Ruth gets Boaz. Not the just the part where prosperity abounds. Not just the part where Jesus turns over a table or Lazarus comes back to life. No, we have to know that a Ruth probably couldn’t stop wailing the night she heard about the death of her first husband. We have to know that many died with nothing by the sword and Moses never saw the Promised Land. We have to see the corruption of the religious who monetized the church. We have to remember that Christ himself wept at the news that Lazarus was gone. @jenniesallen is still fresh in my mind, sitting with us in the @ifgathering office with urgency in her voice: “woe to us if we say ‘let’s do life outside of this.’” Know this book. Walk in the way of righteousness. Delight in God above everything else.

I love the regional nature of the United States. Living in New England, anything above 80 starts to feel terrible because there’s no AC so you can’t seem to escape the heat. After a few days of a heat wave, I start to come unglued. But here in central Texas, I’m sitting outside enjoying the breeze and it’s 96° out. I think it’s because I know that central air is available. It’s amazing how knowing relief is coming provides us with hope. Knowing there will be change is a gift when you can’t handle much more of what is. There are parts of my mind that comprehend my book being “launched” and there are parts that do not. I have no idea how to accept the reality that a whole lot of people are reading my vulnerable words without my eye contact. I am unsure of how it feels like it’s happening so dang fast but took years to come true. As I sit here, breathing in the warm, dusty air, I am catching a small glimpse of all of these things and it makes me a little teary. I don’t get to go back. I don’t get to be un-googleable or go on a first date without someone knowing a whole lot more about me after a quick social media search. Everything feels different but nothing feels different, all at once. There is a small grief to being known like this. And now, as the last bit of light escapes over Texas, I know what I feel: I’m growing up. And that happens to every last one of us, so maybe this is all ordinary after all. Thanks be to God.

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