Precious People

We are truly blessed indeed.  At the close of each year, we all become a little more reflective.  I am in awe of the richness that God has given us in our relationships.  As we drove home from Bend, Mom and Dad went their own way and headed to the beach for 3 days to celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary (way to go, Mom and Dad! Thank you for still being married and loving each other so much!).  So, Jeff and I and Dutch blared our favorite worship music (Robbie Seay band) and sang at the top of our lungs as we drove home through the slushy valley snowfall.  When we got home, we decided that Dutch had been SUCH a trooper, stuck in the car for 4+ hours without a complaint, that we skipped unloading the car and decided we’d do nothing but play with Dutch from then until his next nap time.  We pulled on our sweats, turned on the pellet stove and got the house toasty warm while I warmed up some lentil soup for lunch and turned on music.   Dutch was giddy to get to move around and play and he quickly found his birthday balloons and began yanking them up and down, fascinted with how they boinked off his forhead with every jerk.  It was one of those amazingly sweet afternoons where we just savored life.  We savored our precious son who wants to get into everything and empty every drawer and climb into every cupboard.  I even let him crawl around in the kitchen cupboard and play with the waffle iron (of course not plugged in!  He likes anything that has a cord!) 

The next day we had a HUGE treat.  Aaron and Candi, yes THE Aaron and Candi from the Santa Clara story, had flown in from Boston with their newborn daughter, Hannah.  So, we had arranged to spend the whole day together, and we did, savoring every moment, catching up on joys and sorrows and challenges and hilarious stories and dreams for the future.  We cuddled each other’s children, laughed at house playing games now is significantly more challenging with a one-year-old and a nursing newborn.  It was one of those sweet and rare times where we just are in awe of the amazing friendship God has given us. 

Then Friday night we had a RDG Christmas party.  The Red Door Girls are a group of us friends who all lived together at the Red Door house in college.  We now get together every few months for either a baby shower or bridal shower or Christmas party.  This year Jeff and I hosted and it was a BLAST.  THe last of us is engaged (finally, Brita!) and most of us now have kids in tow.  The night included a lot of breastfeeding infants, diaper changes, laughter, and stories.  I am always in awe of how time with those girls is so fabulous.  We always just jump on where we left off.  Our relationships are truly God-ordained.

And today we had a rare and special occasion to be with friends, one of whom has been my best guy friend since I was three years old.  Dawson Hunter (inlcluded in my When God Broke My Heart story) and his girlfriend Anna, and Scott and AJ Schindelar who are long-time friends from college and who worked side-by-side with us at Real Life in Corvallis, all drove out and spent the day here with us.  What a blast!  We also were able to jump on where left off, reminiscing about hilarious old times and discussing future dreams and plans … (maybe wedding bells???).  It was fabulous.

And so now I’m tucked into bed.  Dutch was exhausted and went to bed at 6pm … so I sit here and realize I could not be any richer.  My life is so blessed with amazing relationships.  Many of them don’t get the time and attention that I wish they did, but they are still there and for that I’m so grateful.  Tonight I am also, to be honest, longing for a home of our own.  All this fun and hosting has made me realize all over again that I was born to host, I have hospitality pulsing through my veins, and I’d love to have a home where we can invite people over, bless them, feed them, love them, serve them.  Perhaps it’s selfish, but I think it’s in my DNA.  But as with anything, God knows best.  He will provide that in His timing, and for now I’m thankful that this home, though not my own, has been bursting at the seams with friendly faces and familiar friends.  We are so rich.  I pray that God would help me to learn to invest more and more in the things that matter–these precious people in my life.