I am going to let you all in on a little secret.....40 years is a long, long time.  A couple of weekends ago I attended my 40th high school reunion.  It is amazing just how much one can forget over the course of 40 years.  Oh we had reunions at 10 and 20 years.  I don't know what happened that we missed the 25 or 30 year one...but somehow those years simply flew off the radar and our class deemed them unimportant to celebrate.

Anyway...I have to say that I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed being there.  Of course, there were still the same old crowd that hung together and had their mini reunions inside the bigger one, but for the most part, everyone seemed glad to see one another.  The funny thing was that no one remembered there being a division of status at all.  There isn't one now obviously, but when we were in high school...it absolutely existed.  Isn't it funny how we see everything differently with adult eyes?  I wish we could make our children see that we do know what we are talking about when we tell them that age changes perspective.  It truly does.

I am not saying that anyone in my graduating class was discriminated against.  I am not saying that anyone thought more highly of themselves.  It was high school after all.  We didn't know there was any difference in our status in society.  We were simply a group of kids enjoying growing up together and experiencing all that life had to offer.

I was 16 years old my entire senior year of high school, and was what many would refer to as a "goody-two-shoes" girl.  Never skipped a class, never smoked or drank, didn't sneak out at night...and the list could go on and on.  "Goody-two-shoes"!  Therefore, when I went to the aforementioned reunion many people recognized my face but didn't have many memories of me attending the parties discussed during the weekend.  I grew up in a very sheltered existence.  For that I am eternally grateful.  
I never struggled with some of the difficulties that many of my former classmates have endured.  Not because I am better but maybe because I chose a different path.

My life has been rich and full of laughter and joy.  Oh, sure there have been trials but there has always been someone bigger than me to carry me through.  I had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and actually making new acquaintances with people that I should probably have known 40 years ago but maybe was too intimidated and immature to even make conversation.  Isn't it amazing how age changes things?  I could walk up to anyone now and immerse myself in their lives.

It all comes down to this...people are people.  All we are called to do is love them and share Christ with them every chance we get.  I hope everyone I reconnected with at my "40th High School Reunion" knows that above all else I am a follower of Jesus.  Everything else is just icing on the cake of life:)

Some days you can just feel the excitement building.  Today was one of those days for me.  Today I got to see the latest addition to our family in all "his" glory on the ultrasound.  God has abundantly blessed me with such wonderful, healthy grandchildren and I am so thrilled that another little guy will come our way in December.  


This story is such a wonderful testament to the amazing grace that has been bestowed on our ever growing family for the past almost 8 years.  Fourteen years ago this past June, I got a phone call that would forever change my life and the lives of my family.  Someone I didn't even know called me to just talk because she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and her daughter knowing my relationship with the Lord suggested to her that I might be someone who could offer encouragement and support. 


Thankfully I was blessed to walk with her through all that cancer could throw at us for 6 wonderful years.  There were lots of hard times, doctor's appointments, MRI's, chemo treatments, radiation treatments...and the list could go on and on.  I say all of that to simply acknowledge the grace of a mighty God.  He carried my friend through a lot of joy and suffering during those six years.  Because I grew to love her so deeply as a friend and sister in Christ, I knew that my life would somehow be changed forever.  How I wasn't sure...but changed...absolutely.


Over the course of our journey and near the end of her battle, I made a promise to her that I would, as long as the Lord allowed, take care of her daughters and welcome them into our family as my own.  Those two "inherited" daughters are our children in every sense of the word.  I always knew that I would adopt in some way.  Randy and I even embarked on that road a few times, but God continually closed each and every door.  Why?  Because as Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  He knew all about my sweet friend and her comings and goings.  He knew all that those two young ladies would need.  He knew just the right family to place them in.  He knew from the beginning.  He orchestrated every last detail.  How great is our God?  


Today I saw new life on a screen.  Sometimes I am sad because of all that my dear friend is missing since she went home to be with the Lord.  Not today.  Today I am rejoicing in all that she trusted me with.  Today I am thankful that she is with a loving heavenly Father that loves her beyond what I can imagine.  Today I rejoice in the reality that we are going to be a family of 15 this year.  Today I am completely and totally in awe of a mighty and awesome Lord!  Today I honor my friend and know that she knows how much I love and miss her everyday:)


Congratulations Anna and Kevin.  


It all comes down to this...love knows no bounds.