Grow Up

Life has been good lately... always entertaining atleast... This weekend flew by as always and I tried to stuff as much into the day as possible. Friday I had Girls Night Out with Andrea, Kacie, Raelyn & Anna at Vino 100 in Uptown... Downtown... whatever... It was so much fun to catch up with the girls. We had such a nice time just chatting outside on the patio... Then I went to meet up with Nick, Ashton & Donna after their golf game. Saturday night Nick and I went to his parents' for dinner and to hang out since we haven't seen them in forever...

Dad had minor surgery Friday and I didn't like that too much. Mom always had polyps so I got used to it, but I remember seeing her writhing in pain. I guess medical technology has gotten better in the past ten years because Dad seemed to be just fine that night.

I had a friend tell me tonight that my decision to leave television changed a part of her thinking as she looks back... Diane said when I was in between "careers"... not just jobs, but careers... that my spirit was dead and I was scared to death, but she remembers I kept telling her that God had a plan and I was just trying to follow it. She says that right now as she changes her career path from Athletic Training to missions she thinks of me during that time. Funny thing is... I do recall a bit how dark it was for me during that time, but it seems I block it out because now I can see the light. Mind you, I had to take a job for a year that broke my heart all of the time, but it lead to the job I have now that I totally love... We agreed it is good to remember those dark times because it helps us grow...

Funny thing... this week's sermon was about "growing up." How we make up so many excuses because it's easier than growing and learning. We don't want to go through the mud. I want to fast forward to the good times where things seem to come together. I've learned time after time that God pushes me in the mud and says... Okay... Walk... Let's go... Don't look down... Follow me. Well, I don't want to get dirty. We want to take the easy way and just make it because it's easier to stay in the same place than to grow. Ohhhh believe me... in the past eight years after dealing with life after Mom's death... I still grow every single day from that one experience. It changed every single day of my life. It doesn't have to be a huge thing like that to make us grow. It can be the nice gentleman at Kroger that made me laugh on my lunch break. It can be a mean comment from a friend. My cat might look at me wrong and make me learn a lesson... Those dark times make us walk through the fire.

That's my thought... Yep... let's see what else... I realized last week after Melissa's funeral I have been to seven funerals since last March... I sat down to make a list of funerals I have attended... Okay, people say I am popular and I admit to loving friends way too much... Here's what happens when you love so many people... The quantity of the people you might lose rises... but, the quality of love also rises - I think the positive outweighs... Here's my list to the best of my memory in order since I was ten years old to now:... Grandaddy Don Adams to Cancer; High School Friend Meagan Stanley to Cancer; High School Classmate Gatlin Howland to Cancer; High School Friend Antwoyne Edwards to Drowning; High School Friend Aaron Boadle to Accident; Great Uncle OR Adams to Blood Clot; Cousin Joe Bayless Adams to Cancer; Mom Deanna Adams to Heart Attack; Great Aunt Kitty Ben Boles to Old Age; Sorority Sister's Brother Spencer Crabb; High School Friend Derek Churchwell to Car Accident; Good Friend Brittany's Dad EC Roberson to Cancer; Grandmother Jackie Adams to Heart Attack; Cousin Judith Goates to Natural Causes; Boyfriend's Grandfather Johnny Polka to Heart Attack; Grandmother Rae Adams to Stroke; Lifelong Friend Sarah Smith; Sorority Sister Melissa Brinker to Heart Attack... Wow... Each of these funerals and each of these lives touched mine in some way and from each I learned a lesson of growth. I still hate funerals.