Getting here...

I often look at where I am today and think how in the world did I get here.  There are so many reasons that my life shouldn't be as good as it is.  I could have easily been some statistic somewhere feeling stuck and trapped with no one. 

There are some people in my past who are just there.  I can't  remember or see any real difference they made on my future but then there are others who influenced the direction of my life in ways that can't adequately be explained.  Elwood, Tina, Eli, Evie, and Mary Lou McAllister are some of those people in my life.  I truly could not imagine where I would be today without them stepping into my life as a very impressionable 15 year old over 14 years ago.  They have now known me for almost have my life but I have had very little contact with them (except for Eli) over the past six years.  Elwood and Tina have lived in Florida for a while now and we just don't get down there and Evie and her husband lived in northern VA for much of the past six years.  Not since Eli's wedding, seven years ago have we all been in the same room together until this weekend. 

This weekend we all converged on Evie's house in Johnson City on the campus of Emanuel School of Religion.  It was only 24 hours but it was like we had never been apart.  All of the same personality traits were present and all of the good feelings abounded.  It was the first time that Elwood and Tina had met our kids.  It was so cool to experience them bonding. 

After my junior year of high school the McAllister's opened up their home to me in a way that is hard to imagine.  I lived there my whole senior year of high school and whenever I came home for the holidays in college I stayed at their house.  They were there for me at very rough time in my life and their love and guidance helped encourage me toward a better future. 

In the end they helped me believe that I had value and worth and I had something to give back. 

Thank you...Thank you...I can never repay you...