1978

I typed in Google "What is 1978 known for" and up came quite a list, from vintage fashion, to housing prices being $54,000 (average), to famous people born that year. That last category fascinated me a bit; the site I looked at listed 33 famous people. Hmmm, that's it??! Only 33? I was pretty sure I would "know" some of them, and sure enough, I recognized some names like Kobe Bryant, Nelly Furtado, Katie Holmes, and Ashton Kutcher. But I think they forgot a few people as I didn't see any of my friends listed. And shock of all shock, neither was I!! I am not sure how we didn't get included in that list. I wonder who I should contact about this......?

Anyway, I'll get over it, I am sure. But seeing as "they" didn't include me, I'll do my own, starting with what happened on March 27th, 1978: a little baby was born, 2 weeks late, with a shock of black hair, to some very young parents. This baby was welcomed into the family by the eager almost 3 year old sister (little did she know how much her world would change because of this 8 pound bundle), and later become the 2nd oldest out of 5 children:

(not only have the kids grown up and changed since this picture...look at that house!! I now live in that house with my own family. What a difference 20 years makes to a property!!)

That black hair gave way to blonde fairly quickly....except for the eyebrows, which stayed dark much to the eyebrow-owner's dismay:

I don't remember much from my earlier years, except apparently I was stubborn, smiley, and drove my sister up the wall with my "girly" behaviour. I am not sure if things have changed 35 years later....

School started and with it came its struggles. I was not the brightest kid in the classroom, which resulted in repeating Gr. 3. It's not that I wasn't too bright....it just took awhile for things to sink in. Don't worry, I am okay with this :o) But eventually I did catch on, which was shown in Gr. 5 when I skipped a grade. That's right...I was right back with my peers again. Bouncing around like this wasn't the easiest socially, but hey, let me know if you can find anyone that can say they had a great 12 years of school without a social problem.

Although school was hard, my highest marks were definitely in the physical education side of things. I LOVED anything to do with sports and would participate in them no matter what, even if that meant passing out while running a 50 m dash due to the fact that I had popped some vertebrae in my back at a sporting event 2 hours earlier. If I had done this in Math, or Language Arts, well, I can guarentee you I would not have lasted 2 minutes, let alone 2 hours.

What I do remember a lot was my love for kids, be that babies, toddlers, preschoolers or older ones. I declared I wanted to be a teacher at quite a young age. Fast forward and by 20, I was exactly that: a teacher. Although I had always wanted to teach Gr. 3, it is kindergarten that grabbed at me and hung on to me for 10 years:

 The other thing that I dreamt of as a little girl was to be married and have children. I know, so typical, but it was true. At 17, God put my husband-to-be in my life and thankfully, he has never left!! 3 years later we were married, where we began the roller coaster ride of married life. Ah, what a blessed ride it has been so far!!

For 11 years, that dream of having our own children was witheld. I remember being in my 20s wishing for my mid 30s because I figured by then I would know where God wanted me and what He wanted from me. Looking back, I can clearly see He was showing me then already: He wanted me then and there to be a wife and teacher. It was just that every once in awhile we would toss the "adoption" word around, wishing for it to be written in the sky as to whether we should adopt or not. Those were some trying times. And so I longed for my mid 30s because I knew that by then we would have soldiered on in contentment, either as a family of two, or on the road of adoption.

After teaching for 10 years, I went back to college to upgrade, thinking if I was going to teach for the rest of my life, I might as well get the proper qualifications. And that is when the Lord decided to place it on our hearts to look into adoption. I did finish my course, but I never did go back to teaching. Not a classroom full of children, but at home, with my 3 and 1 year old, two undeserved blessings through adoption.

Having a birthday makes you reflect on how good God has been. It may seem like He has answered all my dreams as I have written them here, giving me what I have always wanted. But don't be silly. You know no one has had a perfect life, that no one has only all fantastic childhood and/or adult memories. But when I look back on the last 35 years, I can't help but be thankful. Yes, there have been some challenging circumstances (most of which I haven't even written about), but through it all, my Heavenly Father has been with me. It is Him that I give the glory to. To live for 35 years knowing that He has claimed me as His own and is my Guide for life gives me such joy, peace and thankfulness. I am so thankful for the times that He has not let me go, despite myself letting go of Him. I pray that He will continue to bless me with His Spirit, and that I may learn more and more each day what it means to live for Him.  



Psalm 28:7 -The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.