The last 30 hours or so

I've just returned home from a whirlwind trip to Evadale, Texas to be at the funeral of my good friend Shellee's Dad.

To read about the trip itself, you should check out Kristy's blog. We made an attempt at live-blogging our trip, thanks to Jenny's snazzy laptop and wireless connection.

As for the funeral, here are my thoughts:

I spent approximately 14 hours in a car driving to a funeral of a man I've never met. I went because even though I've never met him, the way he lived his life has greatly impacted mine. I'd say that's a sign of a life well-lived. I know two of his kids (Shellee & James) and several of his grandkids, and the people they are, as I learned today, is a direct result of the man Charles Gilbert was. His influence reaches far beyond the boundaries of time, location, and even death. Sitting there today caused me to examine my own life and all the ways I could be more like Jesus to the people God puts in my world. I look forward to waking up tomorrow (after a full night's rest) ready to live fully the life I've been given.

Thank you Gilbert family for being so transparent today, for being a real, living, breathing picture of faith.

Thankful

I've mentioned a time or two on this blog that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I just think it's so great that our entire country takes a day to stop our busy lives, spend time with family and friends, and just be thankful. Really the only downside to Thanksgiving is that someone has to die, the turkey. I digress. For me, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without thinking through some of the hundreds of things I have to be especially thankful for this year. Since this is the place where I think out loud, here are some of my thankful thoughts...

My family will hopefully always be at the top of my list.

My Mom and Dad: I'm thankful for their encouragement, their generousity, their wisdom, their love, their friendship, their godly example. I am especially thankful that tomorrow my Dad is going to come over and beat up some wasps for me and maybe change some batteries in my smoke detectors! And, I'm thankful that my Mom is going to go through the trouble of making Stove Top Stuffing for me because she knows that's what I like best.

My brother, Josh: I'm thankful for his sense of humor, his intelligence, and I'm really, really thankful for his family! Kelley has been a wonderful addition to our family, I can't believe they've been married for 5 years already. And, I think my love for Will and Allie is well-documented here. The four of them, they make my life really fun, and I'm thankful for that.

My sister, Ashleigh: I'm thankful for her honesty, her teaching wisdom, her listening ear, and her ability to forgive me when I drive her crazy! :)

My Grandmas: I can't think of two better people to be the foundation of our family. Both of my Grandmas would do absolutely anything for any one of us. They are kind, they are generous, they are constant. They have taught me the value of being thankful. I'm so very thankful to have the influence of two very wise and very loving Grandmas on my life. You guys are the best!!

These are some people that I haven't known that long, but this year, I'm just down-right grateful for them:


Apparently, God likes to use kids to change my life, because last year these four did just that. Two of them were in my class last year and the other two were just a bonus! In a crazy way that I would have never imagined these four kids and their families have become some of my closest friends. I'm thankful for their encouragment, their time, their wisdom, their laughter. I'm just thankful for everything about them. They make my life so much more fun, more exciting, and a lot fuller!

I could probably go on for a long time about everything that I'm thankful for...all my other friends, Diet Coke, Peanut M&Ms, flying insect spray, my house, my car...but I don't want to bore you.

I'll close with the thing that I'm most thankful for this year. I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful that He's a good God who loves me, who cares about me, who has every little detail of my life figured out. I'm thankful that He continually offers grace and mercy to me. It is a grace that is a mystery to me, but beckons me to live, to not take any day or any opportunity for granted.

I have so very much to be thankful for. If I never experience another blessing, I think the overflow of thankfulness my heart is experiencing right now could get me through. I am blessed indeed.

Perspective

I've heard it said many times, life is all about perspective. Well, for a little over a week now my little world has been shaken by this truth. My favorite football team may lose a game they should have won, but, it's still just a football game. I may spend days planning an amazing lesson that doesn't go off like I'd hoped, but, it's just one out of hundreds. I may have a no-good-horrible-very-bad day, but if I'm here writing about it, then I survived. You might be thinking, "Where did these thoughts come from?" Well, my friends, the blog world is crazy and it has deeply impacted my life this week.

It is amazing how reading one blog leads to reading another to another to another, until you have just about seen the whole internet. The blogging world has really become like a world-wide community where people literally share their lives with people they don't know and most likely will never meet. It is kind of strange actually, but, there are a lot of really smart, wise, and funny people out there who make it easy for you to get hooked.

In an effort to become more authentic, I'll admit it, I'm a blog lurker. I'll check on one of my friend's blogs and then click on a blog they read which leads me to another one. It unfortunately could go on for hours. Well, a little over a week ago I was reading Kristy's blog, which eventually led me to a blog about a newborn baby and family with unbelieveable faith and courage. At the time I discovered this family, the baby, Copeland, had just been born and they were rejoicing that she was alive and really doing quite well. You see, Copeland was born with Trisomy-18. Since there is no way I could adequately explain what that is, this is some information I found on the Trisomy-18 Foundation website:

Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) is a chromosomal abnormality where there is an extra chromosome present in every cell of the body. This is an example of where “the more the merrier” is not true. This extra chromosome means that every cell has extra information encoded into it. The extra information causes confusion in the way that the cells are formed and results in the potential malformation of all of the body systems. Just like with Down's Syndrome (Trisomy 21), there is a wide range of how this condition will play out (what the doctor's will refer to as your child's phenotype). Unfortunately because there is more information encoded on the 18th chromosome, the severity of this condition is greater than that of Down's Syndrome. Current studies show that while 1:1500 children will be diagnosed prenatally with trisomy 18, only half that number (or 1:3000) will be born alive at full term. Of those who survive to birth, only half will make it to two months of age, and only 10% will survive to their first birthday. Children who live can be an important part of their family and community, but are profoundly developmentally delayed.

So, every single cell in Copeland's body was effected by this condition. Her parents found out she had Trisomy-18 about three months before her birth. Can you imagine, rejoicing over the fact that you are going to have a baby in a few months and then suddenly finding out that if she is born alive at all, she will only live a short time? I have yet to experience the whole power of a parent's love for their child and all that good stuff, but still, I can't even begin to begin to begin to understand what news like that would do to me. That is why Copeland's story has intrigued me so much. The first night I found their blog I got all caught up and was totally blown away by this family's faith. While using their blog to pour out the truth of what was coming they simultaneously used it to proclaim God's sovereignty, His faithfulness, His goodness, and their unwavering hope in Him. I was hooked immediately. I checked their blog at least five times a day to check on her and to see how she was doing, sometimes even walking around my classroom with my iPhone in my pocket ready to check at any free moment. Her parents would post frequently with updates on how she was doing, if she was having a good day or bad day.

I will admit that I struggled deep in my heart with questions like, "How can they be so full of hope knowing what they know?" Or more importantly, "Why would God allow a little baby to be born just to die?" Last Tuesday night they celebrated her 1-week Birthday, knowing they would never get to share a real Birthday with her. Then Wednesday afternoon she was gone. A friend of mine who was also keeping up with Copeland broke the news to me. As I was driving home from church that night I was thinking about those questions I had been asking myself over and over. Then, like I've never really experienced before, I felt like God gave me an answer. Question: How can they be so full of hope knowing what they know? Answer: Jesus. Question: Why would God allow a little baby to be born just to die? Answer: Jesus.

God does and always will know exactly what He is doing, I will not. The Farley family rejoiced in the fact that while their time on Earth with Copeland was short, their time in Heaven with her, in perfect form, will last for eternity. While only for a short time, they loved her well. God knows exactly what it feels like to rejoice in the birth of a child only to have them die an undeserved death. And, just like the life and death of Jesus has completely changed my life, the little life of Copeland has also impacted me in a way that I hope I will never forget. This is just a temporary life and while I want to live it well and bring glory to God, my heart aches for home.

Yesterday was Copeland's Memorial Service and her family just posted the video they played and the letter they wrote to her. If you'd like to check it out, be warned, you will probably need some kleenex. Here is the link, Copeland Farley.

I'll end with this, no matter what happens on any given day, as long as I have Jesus, I have everything. I am thankful that God put some perspective back in my life this week.

Mark that one off my to-do list

Well, the first day of school has officially come and gone. Overall, it was a pretty good day. I am pleased with the way my students bought into everything I told them today and I think we may be off to another great year!

I was just looking at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram website because, well, I'm too cheap to actually pay for the paper. I also know that if I paid for it, I wouldn't read it. Anyway, they had several pictures of the "First Day of School" from lots of local districts. As I was looking at the pictures I was reminded of something that I think everyone should remember. It was the picture of a mother crying as she said goodbye to her kindergarten student that got me. Honestly, my first thought was why in the world is she crying? School is such a good thing! I know it's a big day and everything, I just didn't see it from her perspective. Then I started thinking, parents don't bring their kids to school all dressed up with new school supplies because they think school is such a wonderful place. They bring them because they have to, it's the law. They bring their kids to school and trust us to do something they themselves can't do (not that they can't, it's just not feasible for most). They basically say, here is my most prized possession please take care of it and return it to me better than when you got it.

I find this level of trust very humbling. Most of the eighteen sets of parents that sent their kids to me this morning don't really have any idea who I am or what kind of person I am, but still they sent me their very best. They trust me to take care of them for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They trust me to fill their minds, make sure their stomachs get fed, and to develop their character. It is an incredible responsibility and in some round about way God has made it clear to me that this is what I was made for.