Thread of Life

The other day my 9 year old son asked me, "Do you think there's one person for everyone?" So, this is what I said to him.. Let me tell you a story... When I was young, I attended a very small school (less than 100 kids total). All of us who grew up together at that school, we're pretty much all still friends. It was the passion of a few adults to have their children get an affordable Christian education. Those few adults mortgaged their homes and started a school. It was directly across the street from the house I'd just moved into and eventually grew up in. My teacher, for almost all the years I was there, was the brother of my best friend. His name is Steve. My volleyball coach and gym teacher, for almost all the years I was there, was the other brother of my best friend. His name is Tim.

My husband grew up 90 miles east of where I lived. He's a few years younger than me. When he got to highschool and started going to the church youth group, he had an amazing new youth pastor that changed the lives of those kids. Just a fresh way of presenting the Bible that really impacted their lives. That young youth pastor was good friends with my husband's older brother, Dan. I'd never met my husband or his family - not until we started dating many years later- but I grew up hearing about these brothers. I knew about their family, their adventures at summer camp, when they won basketball games, etc.

In my sophmore year of highschool Tim left our small school to take a job as a youth pastor in the Chicago suburbs, the very church where Dan and his family attended.

And this is not even the story of how I met my husband! It wouldn't be until some 12 years later that we would meet, fall in love and have a garden wedding at my parent's house across the street from that tiny little school. Tim and Steve... they are the pastors of the church we currently attend. Tim... the pastor who married us so many years ago today.

Sometime I'll tell you the whole story (it's slightly scandalous, twisted, repentant and oh what a love story...) I'm amazed now at how God wove our lives together, gave us nearly identical childhoods with the same impacting people, the same friends. He is the tie that binds... Is there one person for everyone? There may be several in the course of a lifetime but in my life, it wasn't until I became obedient that God gave me the love of my life.

When I was pregnant with our daughter, I typed up the whole thing. These are the last two pages... (you should be able to click to enlarge them)