Here's To You

Here's to you, friends. (Picture me raising my glass to you) Extended friends, friends of friends, new friends, old friends, friends I haven't met yet :)  Here's to you family.  Sisters, momma, daddy, aunts, uncles, grandmas, cousins, niece, nephew, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, YL family, church family, Lexington family, Funfax family, Chespeake family...there's a lot of you!  Be proud of that.  I believe it's how God intended us to live...in community.  We're just lucky we live in a day and age that a 2,4, or 6 hour trip in a day is nothing, and where we can text, call, email, fb, tweet anyone anytime of the day.  I know it can be overwhelming sometimes, I feel it frequently-the pressure to be in constant contact with people. But not today.  Today I'm thankful for that, for being able to talk to or hear from any of y'all whenever   Thankful for all of you.  Even those of you I don't know well, or at all-I'm thankful for you, too.  Thankful for prayers from people I've never met, and those from people I do know ;)

I'm continually in awe of how well we're loved.  How much you guys are loving us.  And it wasn't just when we found out I have cancer.  It's been all along.  I was in awe when Chad and I got married this past December...

(haha, I was wondering how I was going to include a picture in this post...got 'em!) ...and how much y'all loved us.  And yes, we know we haven't finished our thank you notes for that yet...so sorry.  They're coming!  You showed up to celebrate the wedding with us, and have adopted us as a couple into different friend groups, whereas before we were solo friends with y'all.

But then we got some womp womp news last month, and you've showered us with love.  And presents :)  And cards.  And emails, fb messages, texts.  This is just a little way I can thank you for all of that. 

Hmm, I felt like I wanted to express myself better in this post.  Or more.  Because I just don't want any confusion when I say these words: Thank You.  I hope you feel the great amount of gratitude and love I'm putting into those words.

I've been a little emotional today...and I owe it mostly to, or blame it all on, the current playlist I've had running the past couple of hours.  Music really does add to a good portion of my memories, and my mood.  And this playlist I probably made in 2010, and it's got a hodgepodge on it-oldies, new stuff, country, rock and roll, Miley Cyrus-she's her own category-...But man oh man, I've stopped a few times today and just pondered as different songs played.  Knowing I've wanted to write this blog post for a while now, and trying to word some stuff out in my head so it came out exactly as I wanted it to...and laughing now cause I don't think anything except for the title stuck. 
[Currently running through my speakers: Beyoncee, Single Ladies] So I'm pumped right now.

Excuse me as I break for a solo dance party...

Sorry, no video of that.  You've just got to seize the opportunity when it strikes!

So thank you.  For it all.  Gifts, both tangible and not.  Prayers-seriously, thank you for those. ["Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24]

And let me just take a moment...like I mentioned above, I was moved...by some Rascal Flatts songs today.  No, no, this is actually serious.  (Specifically "Why" from their Unstoppable album)

"Oh, I had no idea you were masking, a troubled soul, God only knows what went wrong..."

We all struggle at times.  It may be something visible, but I feel more often than that it's inside, it's hidden...and that's the way we want to keep it.  There's a slew of things we deal with, and I can't even pretend to know or always identify with the deep hurts there are, but I know the other side: the 180 of that: there are people who love you.  Or people who want to love you, if they only got the chance. If you only gave them the chance.

"This old world really ain't that bad a place..."

I believe that.  I hope that makes some sense, but I'm really moved today at how broken this world is, and yet, there's hope.  And if you've never entertained the idea of hope, try it now...I can't promise it'll happen immediately, but it won't disappoint.  Something I believe in goes like this: "Trials and tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character hope.  And hope does not disappoint."

Nuggets from Emily today haha. 

Well, that's all folks, except I've got to tell you that the last song on this playlist is "Heal the World" by the fabulous MJ-(Michael Jackson). Oh MJ. So so fitting.