50 Years!

Everyone needs cheerleaders...
the ones who are always in your corner...
encouraging you along the journey of life...

I have many.  My great aunt, Barbara Hall Allen is one of them.

When I think about my life, the ups and downs, Aunt Barb has been there for every one of them.
When I said goodbye to people I loved, she was there.
When I said, "I do" to the man God planned for me, she was there.
On my wedding day, my "something borrowed" was her strand of pearls.  I wore them close to my heart, and touched my neck every so often to make sure I didn't lose them.

As we journeyed along life, we took some twists and turns.  During one season, we were foster parents and always had a revolving door of kiddos in our home.  Many times, I would get a card in the mail with a check or I would see her out somewhere in town and she would slip a few dollars in my hand.  I would protest and she would say, "Charles and I support missions, and helping raise other peoples children is a BIG mission."  Their dollars, at any given time, bought clothes, school supplies, a meal at a restaurant, or a yearbook for children who would only be with us a short time and who would never know who Aunt Barb and Uncle Charles were.  They invested in children they didn't even know.  Everyone needs a cheerleader like that.

Charles and Barb celebrated 50 years of marriage and today, family and friends were invited to be a part of the celebration of that day.  The room resonated with the stories of the many lives they had touched... stories of people who, like me, had gotten a card in the mail or some encouragement as they traveled along their own journey.  What an honor it is to be a part of their lives and to have been a part of this day.  I have cried at the tenderness shared and laughed until I cried at the funny parts of their story.

At the end of the day, the big party is over, the food has been eaten, and the guests have gone home.  I sit here in the quiet of the evening, reflecting on this day and the years of memories with Charles and Barb.

I hope that, more than reflecting on a day, I can be a small reflection of the woman Aunt Barb is.  She is one of my biggest cheerleaders.  She exemplifies the Titus 2 woman and the Proverbs 31 woman rolled into one.  She is there, and in being "there" for all the moments of my life, she is quietly cheering me on to follow Jesus more closely and to be a better wife and mom.  She is there to tell me when I do a good job, to pray for me, and to make me want to set my sights a little higher than they are.  To be more.  To do more.  To love more.  Everyone needs a cheerleader like that.