Thursday, May 7, 2015

Birthdays and memories

They say you can't go home again, and I suspect you can't turn back time either if I was going to grab onto cliches this morning. But the fact is that sometimes you can peer down the hallway of time, with a tune on a radio or a glimpse of something that sparks memory.

This morning, over coffee, lots and lots of coffee I suspect since I'm tired, I've done a bit of that time-traveling.

The Apostle Paul writes, "Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

This day I rejoice and give thanks for the amazing woman that my daughter Shanna has grown to be. She's a bundle of energy, a manic planner, a person who gives everything for her children, including nightly visits to the ball park no matter how tired she is, only to get back up and get them roaring out of the house again for school the next day.

And she does it alone. It's been right at eight years since her husband passed, yet she's managed all these years.

I not only love her dearly, I admire her for the tenacity she has always shown.

Watching her kids play ball takes me back to the beginning of our years at the park together, and it has been a joy to do so. Gabe, the 11-year-old, is the technician. He knows the game the way Shanna did, and he's small like Shanna, quick like Shanna was. Gavin, the 8-year-old, is the one who doesn't mind getting into the dirt and getting a ball that might hurt if it bounces against him. He's filled with joy just to be playing.

They are two peas in a Shanna pod, and the three of them bring me such rejoicing.

Today is her birthday, and I'm so blessed, we're so blessed. It will be so hard to say goodbye in seven weeks or so as we move away, but I know that she will simply suck it up and figure a way to make this all work. That's Shanna. That's my love.

A woman named Loretta Taylor wrote this poem:

"You would follow your dreams so far away
and in our hearts you will always stay
For wherever in this world you may roam
in my heart you'll always be home
Life is not about ends, but new beginnings
for life is a circle that never ends
and with you a new circle begins
Sweetie, thanks for the gifts of love and laughter
I wish for you a love that lasts forever and after"

Happy birthday, Shanna.

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