The Best Day Ever!

      Okay, the first best day was the day I married Jerry. He was such a blessing to me and still is. We don’t have much in common but our faith and yet it has worked for 31 years.

     The second best day ever was when Emily was born. I was so sure that I had no maternal instincts I bought about a dozen books on parenting. Our pediatrician told me to throw them away that I had maternal instinct. He just met me...how could he know?

     The third best day ever was when Jami was born. We lived in Texas and she had a little southern twang when she first started talking. Emily was so thrilled to have a little sister. The girls were 3 years apart but always very close. They still are.

     The fourth best day ever was when Emily got married. We had the wedding on our property and it was the most beautiful October day I had ever seen. Jerry and I were honored that the kids decided to get married on our anniversary.

     The fifth best day was when Jami got married. It was a little unusual to spend a week with another family you have never met before (the in-laws), but it worked out. We had a beach house in North Carolina that was very accommodating for all the families and even though it rained, it was a wonderful wedding and a proud moment.

      Of course, the sixth best day ever of my life was when my granddaughter was born. Now that she is 5 months old, I see so much of her mother and her Aunt Jami in her. She is a very complicated young woman already and pure joy. She must have gotten the “complicated” part from Jerry’s side of the family!

      Although life seemed to only begin for me the day I got married, the really best first day for me is the day God made me… “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” Jeremiah 1:5. He was there for me from the beginning. Did He plan a perfect life with only joy and no sadness for me? No. But, He was always and is always there for me.   

     God put wonderful women in my life while growing up like my Granny. I lived with her off and on until I was 21 years old. Whoever said  “you can never go home again” did not live with Granny. Everything, all the time was exactly the same. That may sound boring, but not to someone looking for security and peace and the best bowl of Potato Soup ever!

      There are many more women throughout the years that have been great examples for me and encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone. One such woman is Phyllis Wallace, talk show hostess for Woman To Woman.

     Many years ago, we attended the same church and she was the Bible study leader for Wednesday Women. It was a Bible study that met at our church but was attended by women of many different denominations. She asked me to speak on a topic of my choice for one of our gatherings. I couldn’t believe she would ask me. I was such a baby Christian who was quite clueless and rebellious. But, I love a challenge!

     From that day on I felt the need to further my own Bible studies and God encouraged me to further step outside of my comfort zone. I was so bold as to suggest a women’s retreat called the Woman’s Day of Renewal held at Good Shepherd in Collinsville. This event is now going on its tenth year and has grown from 52 women to well over 400.

     If God never “formed” me then my daughters would never have been born and my wonderful granddaughter would never have been born and all the wonderful moments that were waiting just for me would never have happened.

      I’m so glad God gave me that very first best day! Just imagine how life would be for others if God did not give you your very first best day!

     “We love, because He first loved us.” I John 4:19