Friday, April 20, 2007

It's a birthday!

Happy Birthday Kate.... and Anne!

How blessed we are to have two people in our family with the same birthday! But wait, it is not the first time...My grandmother and her sister were born on the same day, a few years apart, August 23rd! And then Dana Beth got to share Jesus' birthday, December 25... of course, that's the day he was born! But wait, again we were doubly blessed, well, triple-blessed when Joyce joined our family, with another December 25th blessing-birthday! And then, Heather joined me in sharing September 6th, although Leah and I already shared the "6th"! Talk about blessings in double portions, we have them! But wait, again, I am reminded of another set of pairs, when the number of April deaths in Oklahoma City matched exactly the number of conversions that came out of a Ralph Bell/Billy Graham Crusade in Goldsboro at the same time! And then Anne shared her day with the deaths of Columbine, followed by having Grandmama's joy of her September birthday paired with 9/11/01. And way back there in the depths of my mind I think I recall an Abraham Lincoln date of death that is also my mother's April 14th birthday! Life and death, paired in life's events: two thieves on the cross, life and death; the cross itself, life and death, his for ours! Grief and celebration, joy and sorrow, unity and separtion...causing us to look both inward and outward, upward and downward, yet seeing over all and above all our sovereign Lord, the master weaver bringing everything together for our single focus on Him, His plan and purpose and glory! So we are one in Christ, with double portions of blessings, in the hands of the Trinity, on this 4-20 that along with 8-6 gives me my fourth child (whoa, I miscarried a pregnancy that was due in April!), in our family of five, now become six, with three Gardner kids and four Hortons to get a perfect 7..... OK , it is infinite and pushing the point, and I will stop as I get farther and farther from the reason for this entry.... One big Happy Birthday wish to both you girls, on two sides of the ocean! Oops, here I go again! So, Happy Birthday, and I hope you dance, girls, and celebrate today and life and your part in the family that I am glad you can call yours. Love to All!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007