It's been a beautiful week. Lots of people past and present have been intersecting in my life in an amazing way. I realized that I am blessed to have had great people in my life encouraging all along the way.
Interestingly, these special people have reappeared or reconnected in my life within this week.(It's really got me thinking.) One of my first teachers that I really thought of as my "favorite" was my second grade teacher. Mrs. Van Vliet. She was always warm and encouraging. She was gentle and soft-spoken. I just loved everything about her. I wanted to be like her when I grew up. From her, I learned to love learning. As funny as it may sound, I really held onto that positive experience all throughout my life. I sometimes would think about her and wonder where she might have gone and what she might be doing.
Thanks to our web based world, I reconnected with her the other day. And it was amazing to hear how she is doing (retired!) and that she remember me as a student. That's an honor to have your favorite teacher not forget you! I remember her encouraging words. When I won the spelling bee that year, I remember her grabbing my hand and saying, "I am so proud of you." When we were on the Jason Davis special, she recorded it for our family to have a tape. (Now we would have a DVD!) Even today, she encourages. Everyone needs a teacher who believes in them and encourages them to love learning.
The second person that I connected with this week--my music teacher. Mr. Cunningham. He instilled in me a love for music. And he left me with some encouraging words. I remember him taking me aside and telling me that he felt that I had a lot of musical potential. I remember him playing a song on the piano and asked me to repeat it. I could. And he had a group of us practice a song. And he gave me a solo in the program. All these things I remembered. Now, he's retired too! (I am old!) He told me recently that his choice of instrument for me would have been the violin! Still inspiring dreams, he is! So, I will keep that in the back of my mind. Everyone needs someone to inspire dreams and keep the music inside alive.
Now, this is a little less "far back" but I found the husband of my favorite college resident assistant. Michele Cosens (now Milledge) was fun, bubbly and full of energy. And what was also unmistakable about her was her love for God. I remember the devotionals that she used to share. I also remember going shopping with her as she planned her wedding. I am still in awe of the many times I went knocking on her door and I would need a heart to heart and she was there to listen. She made such a profound impact on me. I was delighted to hear from her and it did me such good to talk with her again. What I think was so sweet was when she said that we were "kindred spirits from the moment we met!"
I have so many funny memories about Michele. She had a great sense of humor. She did the best football player imitation. She was also hilarious even as she was losing control of her car on an icy road. She blurted out, "These roads are so slickery!" I also remember when I went to visit her in her new apartment after she got married. There was a knock at the door and a policeman wanted to know if I owned a light blue truck. I sure did. It had rolled up on the hill by the apartment! Man, was I scared that I had done something wrong! But it's been fun to hear about her life now and thankful for how we can keep in touch with people from so many different points in our life. Everyone needs a great resident assistant that makes college life totally memorable.
Today, I got to talk to my long time friend Tom via skype who (although we keep in touch via e-mail regularly) I've been friends with for a long time. And it was really comforting to see him sitting in his office as we very quickly passed an hour chatting. We've been through all sorts of ups and downs together through e-mails and occasional calls. But we have really been there for each other through the many transitions of each other's lives. His kids were young when I met him and now they are grown up! I didn't have kids and now I do...and they are young. I do remember funny things about Tom too. I remember a couple of his sermons still to this day. (Why can I remember things from years ago but not what I ate last week?) Tom has been a friend who encouraged me, spoke honestly to me and was just there to share about daily, weekly kind of stuff. It's been fun. Everyone needs a Tom in their life. Someone who can be authentic with you and share life along the way.
Then, there's my mom's pastor from Korea. He has the most hearty laugh. From the moment I got his first e-mail to when I met him in person in Korea, I realized that he was full of God's Spirit. He has an infectious smile (and his eyes close too when he smiles and it's actually quite endearing!) and a warmth that is very welcoming. I remember when I was in Korea, we spent time talking about his vision of following Christ and the intimacy that he desires with God and fellow believers. Now, we get to talk on skype. Our goal is to talk often. He enjoys seeing the boys and the Korean phrases that they can say. He says, "Let's learn hangul (Korean)." He points to an apple and tells me the name and gives me a sentence to repeat. And like a good teacher, he smiles, nods and says, "Good!" We talked about how Jason and I met. He also talked about how he and his wife met and his kids. As we shared, we laughed as he said, "My wife likes me more than I like her!" I got to use my Korean phrase that says, "You're funny!" Everyone needs a friend in another country who wants to share their life with you and teach you their language.
Then, there's my new sister. She is busily living her life but continually trying to be the translator between my mom, dad and me. Each time I get an e-mail from her, I anxiously read the news of what's happening "back home." It's apparent that we are all missing each other so much. But she encourages in each e-mail telling me how much I mean to her and how she is trying to be better at English. Her phrases are so cute and I always laugh some when I read her e-mails. She encourages me to keep learning Korean. I am trying. And I have a lot of motivation now to learn phrases. I feel blessed to know that I have people that I really want to speak to in Korean! My brother likes the song "Don't Worry Be Happy" and it's unofficially become "our song". We think of each other when we hear that song. Everyone needs a new sister and brother (I don't use "step") who enriches your life.
Lastly, there is my adoptive sister who is anxiously preparing for her first journey to Korea. When summer comes, she will maker her first trip to see her birth family. My family will be going with me this time. So she texts me today with ticket prices to Korea. It reminds us that not long from now, we will all be going together. She and I have been talking to each other about our families there. We have processed a lot together. We've both often said, "I'm so glad you're going through this with me." Everyone needs someone who understands what you're going through. That unique, unexplainable experience that one must go through him/herself in order to really understand it.
All of these connections are important and meaningful to me. So, what does it all mean? How blessed can one be to "see" how all of these people intersect in such a short amount of time--that took a lifetime to experience? I don't know. But I just thought that in case I lost an appreciation for how God is working, I need to write it down. Because my memory isn't always so good. I am thankful for the people from the past and present who have made my life richer.
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