The Birthday Party

Well, last night was the big surprise party for my father-in-law.  He is amazing, godly, loving, humble and everything you could ask for in a man of God.  He turned 60, and there had to be almost 100 people crammed into his sister-in-law's house.  It was nuts.  We didn't get to bed until 1:30am.  This morning, we met with one side of the family for breakfast, then drove an hour to meet with another side for lunch.  Whew!  

It's really a change for me, because I didn't grow up around family.  It was usually just me and my parents.  So, it's taken me awhile to get used to the idea of everyone wanting to spend lots of time together.  I have to say, I like it!  

I want my children to know their relatives, good or bad, better or worse.  I never had to stay and work things out with family, we were always on the go.  So my recourse when conflict arises is to retreat or just change the subject.  I do that a lot!  I don't get to know people (friends or family) too deeply, in case we disagree and then we may not relate on the same level again.  I am trying harder to connect with those I really love though.  Especially these past few months.  Jesus is teaching me to not worry about this stuff so much.  I had some friends (Ta-Tas) take me out for my birthday earlier this year, and on the way home I was mentioning some of these realizations to one of them.  She looked at me and said, "But what's the worst that could happen?  You've already found out what happens when you put your heart out there, good or bad, so why not do it?  What's the worst that could happen if you let people in?"  

So there you go.

I want to embrace this season, as a time of learning and growing.  Thanks to my friends and family who are patient with me, and encourage me even when I don't express my heart fully.

Wow.  This was kind of a deep post.  I'll try to be a little lighter next time.