I am a 36-year-old wife & mom. I recently celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary with my best friend, Jack. We are blessed with two, very different, but equally amazing children. Bobby is almost 10 years old & is in the 4th grade. He is very bright, very sweet, and extremely tenderhearted. His love for people and his desire to do what is right is far greater than his years. Sabrina is seven years old, is in the 2nd grade, much to her disliking, is the smallest girl in her grade. Her bright, outgoing, spunky personality far outshines her height. Jack, Bobby and Sabrina are the loves of my life.
I was born and raised in a small town not far from our current home. My parents had been high school sweethearts, attended college together, and were married directly after their college graduation. Both were teachers. I have one brother who is three years younger than I. My mother became a stay-at-home mom when I was born and returned to teaching after my brother entered school. We did not have a lot of material things, but we were very spoiled in the love department.
As a child, I had no appreciation or understanding of how blessed I was. My parents had a love for one another that I now realize is extremely rare. I thought that my childhood years were mundane, boring, far overprotected. I now see those years as cherished protection, springing from deep love from my parents.
I have always had a soft heart for anyone who is hurting. I have always gone against the grain to cheer for the underdog. This pattern (good or bad) played a big part in my teen years. I was quick to befriend anyone who did not fit in or was needing a friend. I made some wonderful friends and met some of the nicest kids around. However, most of them had homes very different from mine. I quickly became awestruck with everything they knew as normal...all that my parents had strived so greatly to protect me from. But they were my friends and my goal was to please them.
We spent a lot of time lying to our parents, running around town, drinking. At the end of my freshman year, my parents & high school’s choir director informed me that I was joining a youth Christian choir which consisted of Bible studies & traveling around the state for three weeks. I was not pleased. This sounded like three weeks of Sunday school with complete strangers…. A.K.A. Hell. By the third day of said tour, my loved ones’ prayers had been answered. My heart was broke wide open & I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior & True Love. Life would never be the same.
The rest of my high school & college years were different. I knew that I loved God dearly & I loved people dearly. However, that was all I knew. I did my best to please God, but occasionally wandered.
I met Jack when I was a sophomore in high school. We became the best of friends. After years of dating others, God opened my eyes to the treasure that was right in front of me. My best friend was also the love of my life. We were married over Christmas break of my senior year in nursing school. All was wonderful….my “prince had arrived.”
Then reality struck. Marriage was much harder than dating. Our families were quite different from each other, therefore, so were we. I had several years of heartache from difficulty in my marriage, difficulty in my work, painful times with my in-laws. Life was not as easy as I had expected.
Thankfully, God was still at work with us. We changed churches and began to learn what God had to say about marriage & relationships. Jack and I had fresh starts...together, with God. He blessed us with some wonderful people who helped us along the way. While we are still learning how to show love to one another and communicate well, God has brought us so far. He has taught us so much. God has been central in our lives as parents and our marriage. I am so thankful for a patient, forgiving, & loving God!
The next trial arrived, January 2007. My father was diagnosed with leukemia. This was the man who had shown me unconditional love, who was my biggest fan in life and who was my steady rock when the rest of life was falling to pieces. We had one month of precious talks, endless tears, and desperate hopes before he was taken home to heaven. My heart was broken like never before. I will never be the same again. I then had to rely on my Heavenly Father like never before. While my heart still aches for my Dad, my heart is also closer to my “Abba” then ever before.
At this point in my life, I am striving to worship and trust my Lord without doubting, love people without expectation, have an open heart without guarding and enjoy life without concern. My prayer is that my life may be pleasing to my Heavenly Father. I want to allow my life lessons may be used by Him. I will be forever grateful for this group of incredible ladies to share the ups & downs of life with, over a pot (or 2, or 3) of coffee. My name is Monica
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