Wannabe Twins

A fews years back, two little "critters" crept into our lives..... Obviously we know we had something to do with making that happen....but, we didn't choose who they would be.  No, we just let Heaven know that we were ok with Him sending us some random spiritual strangers... Yes, you could call it rolling the dice with life!

When they came, they were so little they couldn't do much, but then lickety split they started to crawl, then somehow figured out how to stand on two of their chubby little legs.  They teetered (by finding a way to put everything they could find into their mouths)...and occasionally tottered (managing to throw up like 139 times before they were 3) ...but managed to finally take first steps, find their balance, start walking and then off they were running around like bugs in summertime....direction-less but it didn't matter cause just moving was the point!

It was fun to see them get just as excited about a big empty cardboard box as they did a new tricycle for Christmas.  They were sweet and beautiful and they had no idea what lay ahead of them in the big whole world of Life.....We got to watch...

......They found light early on and "crawled" towards it... somehow they figured out how to stand close to it and although they teetered and sometimes tottered, they figured out how to find their footing and stand on their own two feet. Then, lickety split, they did a few years back, they started taking first spiritual steps, finding their balance and then BOOM!... they were running like jets in the summertime skies.... the difference this time is they knew exactly the direction they were headed....because now, it started to matter.

McKenna and Braden came two years apart, but act like twins.   They decided to go and leave on missions on the same day!.   They have been on their missions for 6 months now.   McKenna in Uruguay and Braden in Thailand.  You would have thought I would have written many posts about them by now....Funny, I have tried about a dozen times and every time I start writing I can't seem to finish... The emotions sneak up on me like snakes and I can't seem to find the words cause my eyes are blurry.

When I think about what they are doing, the purpose that drives them, the motivation that has led them to sacrifice a couple of years of their life to do something that they believe in stalls my heart..... and then......when I see these little pictures of them when they were just little people.....well, then it is like game over.  Don't get me wrong, it is awesome to experience the feelings, I just am not sure where to start putting 'pen to paper.'

You are never sure about the investments you make as a parent early on.... it takes so many years to see if they were the right ones to make... will you get a good return?  Will it have mattered?  To have tried to do things that seemed so simple, basic and slow at times... hoping for recognition later, or even just some sense that you did something right.

Missions are incredible springboards to see the ROI!  They are the world's greatest developmental stretch experiences ever and the cool thing is that the reason young people go, usually has nothing to do with what they will get out of their time themselves, rather, the motive is to serve others... ironically though, often the result of aligning one's actions to the right motives yields so much personal growth and learning after all.  There is magic in witnessing the growth of your kids right before your eyes, week to week in real-time.  It is hard to behold.  Like the rising sun's rays catching you in the eyes... too much to handle.  God promised us that if we sacrificed just a portion of what He gives us back to him, we would receive so many blessings that we wouldn't be able to hold them all in:

"....and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."   Malachi 3:10

What a privilege it has been to watch Braden and McKenna both double down deeper into this thing called 'Love They Neighbor' and figure out how to not let themselves get in the way, how not to make it about themselves, but how to just reflect the love God has for all of His children on everyone they meet.  And then to see what happens to their hearts each day they go deeper!  Malachi is right....there isn't enough room....

What I am learning in my 'advanced' years.....is that I am becoming more and more ok with that.  I don't have to find more room, it is enough to know it hurts that good for now....... Maybe in the next life, there will be these unplanned moments when we get the full download of all those blessings that there wasn't room for before, but there, in that cool future place, there will be.  That would be awesome no?

I can't wait....

Braden and McKenna probably are twins in a spiritual sense.... they probably made pinky pacts before they came down here that they would hang out together in the same family, go on their missions together on the same day and who knows what other promises they made... but I have a feeling these two have many other things up their sleeves... and we just happen to have the best seats in the house to watch it all unfold.....

I can't wait....

Lioness at the Gate

Where does strength come from?  Does it come with us or do we find it?  Or does it find us when we need it?  I am not sure.  Just when I think I "have" it, it seems so fleeting.  I admire people who seem to carry it with them for more than a few days....and then to see what they do with it.

Have you ever heard the term: Lioness at the Gate?  I have.... She is quite the creature.  She recognizes that the better way is not found by mimicking, or worse, joining the world. She recognizes the battle cry to fight for that which  is right and good that protects our homes and families from harmful influence wherever they are found. (Julie Beck)

I happen to know one of these Lionesses.....One who has found such strength and carries it constantly through the days of her life....  Here is how I know.....she is:

Solid as stone 
She is the person that you can break yourself against, cause she ain't splitting a single crack no matter what kind of waves crash against her.

Sassy as steel
How did she find her voice at age 2?  Hah, I will never know, but how completely unnerving at times, to be greeted at the door after working all day by this tiny redhead, with hands on hips letting me know that she was going to "chew me up and spit me out", if she wanted to.....I didn't know if I should hug her for being so cute, or put a lock on her door at night!!

Steady as an oak
When did she find her footing?  Oh that is easy... as soon as she freakin' learned how to walk!!   It is a total mystery but a marvel to behold in real life.

She fires straight, she doesn't mince words, she doesn't think about the most flowery way to say something.... she just shoots her words like a gun.  They come out, like bullets--to find their mark and then make an impact......maybe sometimes they leave just a little mark.....but even if they do, she is usually right.

She isn't that out in front "rah rah" girl trying to get the attention or getting everyone involved...  No, she is fiercely and quietly dedicated, loyal and always cheering a teammate or friend on no matter what.  She may not do everything they want to do, but when she decides, it usually sticks like a price tag on a plastic bowl.

She doesn't have all the answers, she doesn't always know what she wants or what to do, but she always finds her way....

Then, there is the other side of her "see saw".... You might think it is the opposite of strong, but it isn't. What you find there is the way she lives her life..... as smooth as a melody that finds its way through a song.  Her own song...not a cover of someone else's.  And not a tune that will get the most radio play, rather, the kind that gets you through a very long road trip.....so cool....



The more I think about it,  she knew who she was at two, and really hasn't ever looked back.  She was littler than most, but not smaller....No, each passing day I see more beauty, more depth, more strength.....yes you could even say more 'bigger'.

Alexa, may you forever find the grace that you will need to keep vigil and stand guard and protect all you care about...

You are the Lioness of your Gate... something exquisite to behold and so regal to consider...