the year of the friend...

You know how something just happens and you realize that you will never be the same again? That happens a lot to me. An event takes place in my life and all of the sudden I see that there is no going back. Things have changed forever, in a big way or even in a small way, and there is a shift for me moving forward.

24 years ago when I met David in Ireland on a weekend trip to Dublin, I knew that was it. My life had changed and I would marry him. Somehow this handsome, tall, educated Irish farmer boy and I were to be together forever. I just knew. He didn't but I did. As fate would have it, we met again a few months later, when he came to the US. After David's phone call I ditched my very cute boyfriend (with the most beautiful, cool, curly hair) because I knew that relationship couldn't proceed now that my future had arrived on US soil, and I went to NY city to see David. We began to offically date a few days later on 8-8-88 and that was all she wrote...

Years later, after we were married and had bought a house in the west of Ireland that shift happened again. We were pregnant and thrilled. Young and pretty much penniless we didn't care, we were just so excited to be having a baby. But I lost that baby. Lost it pretty far along in the pregnancy too. And that was it. I didn't say it to my hubby but inside I knew that we needed to get back in the states. David had decided to leave a company he was working for and start his own investment business. He was doing pretty well but times were tough then in Eire. It was well before the Celtic Tiger and it was hard going. We began praying our first Novena, a prayer that a friend of ours had mailed to us after we lost the baby. Each Tuesday we would go down to our church, light a candle and pray silently. A Novena takes 9 weeks and until the 7th week we didn't share what we were praying for. On that 7th Tuesday though we opened up to each other. Driving home David told me that he was praying we could move to the US so that we could build a better life for ourselves and our future family. I shared with him that I was praying to move home too because, after losing the baby, I had realized how much I needed my mom and dad.
That very night my dad called us. Now, this was 18 years ago. There were no calling plans. There were barely cell phones and no one had computers. We could not email, skype or text so I got to talk to my parents for about 10 minutes each Sunday. This was a Tuesday and a call from my dad on a Tuesday was unheard of. But my dad had been moved to call. He told us that he felt we should consider moving to the US and that if we wanted he would lend us the funds to get ourselves and our dogs there. Within weeks we were back in the US, living in a cute little tenant house on a friends farm and David had a lead on a good job while we both worked the holiday season at a JC Penney's...

Anyhow, I have a lot of those stories. So many. Bet we all do actually. Good, often goose bump inspiring, stories. God stories. These stories show me how God plays a huge role in my life. He leads me to life changing situations and then allows me to decide what to do next. Meeting my boys was another recent situation. I swear I knew that that they were mine when I hung out with them the first few times in the Miskaye orphanage in 2010. I was there to help the orphans but God blessed me. Weeks later, flying home from Ethiopia my heart was breaking as I could literally picture the boys flying home next to me. I felt overwhelmed asking my husband to consider adding a #7 and a #8 to our family. But, God prompted. Life changed again.

Well, in this new year, in this 2 1/2 weeks of 2012 God has been prompting me in a number of ways again. More quiet and subtle, He has been telling me to do something I love to do ~ be social. I don't know if this is for my benefit or what but He is inspiring me to make lunch dates, write notes, say yes to dinners with the girls from high school, make calls. I am not 3 weeks into 2012 and I have had to dub it the year of the friend.

With one of my dearest friends quite ill with cancer, many others I love also battling cancer and the tragic loss of my cousin and his sweet wife dying within 4 months of each other, (leaving behind 2 children who need them), it has really been driven home how short life is and how necessary it is to get out there love it. I can't help it, I need to love. Love my family, love my friends, love Ethiopia, love life, love the world. It is a physical need and so this year I will embrace it. I will eat too often at Panara. I will probably drink too many latte's and spend $ I shouldn't, but this is something that I can't go back on. I have been nudged and must go with it. I have people to talk to and to listen to and the share with. I have some kind of mission that I don't honestly even understand yet. I will seek to live out this one-of-a-kind year full of old and new friendships and see where it takes me... I have learned that I am rarely disappointed when I follow God's lead. I am pretty excited actually... Stay tuned, things are about to change yet again.