This week has been full of timelines for me. Amounts of times mean so much. And sometimes huge amounts of time make a huge impact, and sometimes short amounts of time change your life. Follow me...
60 years. On Sunday, we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. And it was a beautiful time. Most of the people who mean the most in the world to my grandparents joined together in one elegantly decorated room to pay respect to a marriage that has lasted more than many of our lifetimes. My mom put in hours of time addressing a hundred invitations, buying my grandmom a dress that she truly loved (maybe not the easiest job!!), decorating, and planning. Her brothers and sisters cooked, and made slideshows, and other things and together they put together a wonderful afternoon for two people who have really changed the worlds of many of us by their devotion to God and to each other. 60 years. Priceless.
6 years. I taught in the same classroom for 6 years. The last room on the right, with a bright yellow wall. I wasn't in the newest part of the building, and my classroom wouldn't have made any headlines. But it was a room full of love and learning. And.. lessons. It's where I first saw my own "light bulb" come on as I figured out how to help a child learn to read. It was a room full of centers, and crafts, and loyalty. I was there to help them be their best, and they were there to help me become mine. This year as all the teachers have returned to school to put all their pinterest research to work and make their rooms precious and inviting.. I cannot help but be thankful for the lessons I learned in room 108 by the children.. but mostly by me.
10 months. J and M lived with us for ten months. Precious sisters who are dearly loved by all of us. Smart girls. Honor roll. Talented. Pageant winners. Loud laughers. Jokesters. Helpers. Friends. And I know if you aren't a foster parent it is hard to understand, but they really felt like ours. A lot of times people will say, which ones are your "real" kids, and everytime I say.."All of them." and I mean it. And with J and M, that came easily. They are children that I feel like soaked up everything we had to give. They loved learning about Jesus, and how to help at home. They loved family dinner nights, and not a night passed we didn't play "Mad, Sad, Glad". Just really happy, well adjusted girls. Pray for them as I know I so often ask you do for all of our children, and pray for us as we adjust to our new routine.
This week I have been so aware of time. And what I've decided is that whether it is 60 years, or 10 months.. time teaches us things. And the things that happen in those time frames make us who we are. My grandparents sixty year marriage has helped to define what I believe marriage to be.. a partnership.. an effort.. a forever commitment. Those six years in my classroom taught me how to be an adult, how to handle things the right way, how to work really hard and how good that feels. And ten months reminded me that it doesn't take a lifetime to make a difference. Short amounts of time can make lifelong impressions.
I am going to be intentional about using my time wisely.
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