on the day of the reunion

May 14, 2022

 caravan sonnet

Nearly 14 years ago I was finishing up my 2nd teacher in-service at WCA, preparing my room, getting last minute lesson plans finalized, copying syllabi, and finalizing decorating my classroom. Y'all know how I loved my room to be decorated. *smiles* I remember pausing somewhere in the morning & looking out the huge wall-to-wall picture windows that my school room had & wondering what the year ahead would bring. I had absolutely no idea how my life would be shattered by a broken engagement & how I would spend the year not ministering as much as I thought I would but being ministered to & deeply loved by my school community & the graduating class of 2009. 

caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet

While I think of many of my students often & spend time praying for them, these past few weeks, and especially today I have welled up with tears so many times as I realize the story could have been so very different if I hadn't been the recipient of such extreme love by so many people that year. Staff, parents, and students that consistently & courageously and compassionately shared God's love in a million practical & gracious ways. 

caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet

So on the day of the reunion I wanted to share a few glimpses of some old pictures ... a look back from a year that is the foundation in many ways of who I became... and a time when there might have only been tears was covered with love...a few pictures from that beautiful, messy, hard, difficult, fun, wonderful, awful, fantastic, and most precious year. The year that I grew up a lot. The year that everything changed.  The year that extreme grace was shown. The year that I laughed way more than I cried.

I so wish I could be at the 60th reunion tomorrow. I weep that I can't attend. My heart is there....from the #decembercaravan inscription:
caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet
caravan sonnet
To the WCA class of 2009, thank you. Your love, your encouragement, and your selfless care for me will always be remembered with humility. You brought laughter when there would have been tears and a precious reminder that God was ever-present in the dark
caravan sonnet
...and to the WCA community who showed me what community rooted in God’s love and grace looks like… it was a piece of Heaven I will cherish forever.

You can read more stories from this tender year in my book, December Caravan, available where books are sold and on Amazon by clicking HERE!

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