This weekend was an exhausting but amazing time of being with some people who truly mean a lot to us. We do not often get to see them, but on Friday we headed to Canada for a very brief but wonderful visit with some of my "childhood" friends. Wayne and Wendy have been close friends with my parents since we first moved from England to Canada (when I was 7...could that really be 21 years ago? Good grief...!) Anyway, we got to spend the evening with them and their daughter, Jen, who is 4 years older than me and was always like a big sister to me growing up. She lives way at the other end of Canada now and so I very seldom get to see her, but she was here for a visit with her dear husband, Dave, and their two STINKIN' CUTE little girls. It was so great to be able to spend some time with people who are more like family than friends.
Saturday morning we headed off for a quick breakfast with Stan and Sue, our dear friends. Sue has been a friend of mine since high school (can you believe she's stuck with me for that long???). Stan and Brad became instant friends once their mutual love of sports was discovered. We went to a Portugese restaurant, which I must admit our stomachs were a little nervous about, but it was great and we had a good time catching up.
Now, I cannot talk about the blessings of the weekend without mentioning this one. On Saturday night, Brad and I drove about 1 1/2 hours to go to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. By this point we had already driven quite a bit and we were exhausted. We got there and sat on the bleachers looking a bit like zombies. I think we were both wondering what in the world we were thinking coming to a concert after our trip to Canada.
But as soon as he came out...any regret we had vanished. It was amazing. I cannot put it into words. I not really what I would describe as an "easy crier" - I don't tear up at sappy books too often, or movies...but this really got me. Many of you may know that the Chapman's recently lost their 5 year old daughter when she was hit by a car. It has been a devastating tragedy for them. I was of course saddened when I heard about it and had prayed for them. But to hear it from his own lips, to hear about the pain and how it has altered their lives...it made me realize a bit more what kind of hurt they are going through. I must admit, I was surprised by how much he shared and how open and real he was about it all. The most amazing part, though, was that he was able to share about the hope that they are clinging to because of Christ. It's easy to share that message when life is good...but when something so awful has just happened in your life, that is when your faith is really put to the test. I left the concert wondering if my faith would hold up under such difficult circumstances. I hope and pray that it would.
One more little thing that I thought was so cool from the evening - it was supposed to rain and thunderstorm (90% chance), but during the concert they announced that they had spoken to the weather people (not sure who that would be exactly...?) and found out that the storm that was coming had split in two and gone north and south of where the concert was being held. Thanks, Lord! It was a gorgeous night and I am so thankful that we went. I won't ever forget it.
