Much love...

As the 1 year anniversary approaches of the death of my sister-in-law Mikell, I feel the need to reflect on these last 12 months. So many scary, hard things have happened in my life. The very first of the year my beloved Grandpa passed away. I love and miss him so very much. My sweet little Isabel was confirmed autistic. Of course Mikell and her accident. Bed rest, early birth, 5 weeks of NICU. But besides all of those hard things I feel so much stronger. I understand the value of life. I understand the need to keep friends and family close. To always let the people I love know it. My sweet sister Krystal has taught me to ALWAYS say I love you whenever you leave the ones you love. She will IM me and after our long or short conversations she always says she loves me. I feel the strong need to tell EVERYONE of you how much you mean to me. I love you so very much for your differences. Your strengths and weaknesses. I am so very grateful for the role you play in my life. You have taught me so much! I also want you to know how much I love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know he lives and loves us. He knows what we need and what we can accomplish. My favorite story is about the little boy who is playing at his grandmothers feet while she cross stitches. Every time he looks up he sees the backside of her work. He asks her why she is working so hard on something so ugly. She tells him that from where she is sitting it is beautiful. A little while goes by and he says again "Grandma it really looks bad from here" so she invites him up to her knee and he sees it from her perspective. He sees how beautiful it is. He continues to play and knows that even though things look bad from where he is he knows that it will be beautiful when it's done. That is the same with our lives. Even though we may look around and see nothing but bad have faith that God is making something very beautiful. Have faith. With ALL the love of my heart, Stacy