"go in love. go with love. go because of love.
how else will they know our good God?'
how else will we? claudia mair burney
"by this all men will know that you are my
disciples... if you love one another." john 13:35
a week ago, i boarded southwest,
guests of joseph and toni and their two
beautiful children.
as i mentioned in my last blog,
joseph was 10 yrs. old and one one of
twelve children that 24 yrs. ago, along with
11 other children , came as my guests to fly with
me to israel to cheer me through my 26.2 mile
race i'd never run before. now, he was flying me
to boston to meet his incredible family. renew ties.
after all these years...
and the
doubt that i would EVER see
these children again, the clouds parted.
the tears came. joseph, now 42, did everything
to make it a magnificent time. we stacked memories
to never be forgotten. from all the italian food we
could devour (the tangerine, almond tarts i could
NOT stop eating)..snacks in the boat..and diet
cokes and pepsi's wherever we could find them,
it was a dance. a miracle. and very hard to say
good-bye.
stretch your wings. grab a star. take one day at a
time, and allow God to give you an assignment of
love every day. watch the Light. listen to God's
voice. fly. most of all, pray for every opportunity
from God. it is ALL about LOVE. kindness.
planting seeds....until they sprout flowers between
your fingers. and all those around you are changed.
different. where there is pure love, the dance
begins. beauty, fresh and vibrant. live.
25 years, and joseph and i,
and his incredible family, find each other.
the fruit of our labor.
first night in the boat,
i slept in geno's cubby-hole.
brooklyn on the table's fold-out bed.
good-night, geno.
i love you.
i love you,too, ann.
brooklyn,
i really love you.
you, too, ann.
and we went around.
love, shining and clean and untarnished,
bound us together. all tucked into the small
living area. what a gift. fingers touching all
the wounds, and allowing us to rebuild the
walls of so many years apart.
do not be silent.
not quiet.
love is a burning torch.
let it burn. let it burn!
Ann, I so loved your books when I was in my 20s, and am delighted to have found this blog, now that I am 52. Like you, I was a professional who longed to be married and have children. God was gracious to me, as He was to you, but like you, life does not always turn out as we hoped. After homeschooling my children most of their school years, my oldest is in a state university and claims he no longer believes; my only daughter, a beautiful girl, is a nanny in Europe who posts profane, decadent things on her Facebook and seems to live only for partying; my youngest in college has stopped going to church; and my husband seems to have abandoned the vibrant faith I thought he had when we married, and I fear he has a drinking problem, attempting to deal with work pressures apart from taking those pressures to Jesus. I know the Lord has not abandoned me, and He is my hope, but I confess to some depression if I look at my family rather than at Him. Thanks for your very honest posts about your life. Praying for you, with love, Wendy
ReplyDeletedearest ann - you, your writing and the ONE you write of changed my world forever when i (14 years old) read - hi, my name is ann and i am out to change my world. Just yesterday i pulled it off my shelf to give to my daughter. (15 years old)and today in doing a search for heritage builders find you. my heart is so full and now my eyes with tears! YOU my dear ann,are a treasure in the Kingdom of God!!!!!! i love you and so look forward to our lives connecting again. much love - jeanie
ReplyDelete"stretch your wings. grab a star. take one day at a
ReplyDeletetime, and allow God to give you an assignment of
love every day. watch the Light. listen to God's
voice. fly. most of all, pray for every opportunity
from God. it is ALL about LOVE. kindness.
planting seeds....until they sprout flowers between
your fingers. and all those around you are changed.
different. where there is pure love, the dance
begins. beauty, fresh and vibrant. live."
"do not be silent.
not quiet.
love is a burning torch.
let it burn. let it burn!"
I loved hearing how your trip went and that there was follow through from your earlier blog. : )