What If...

I really need a 24/7 week at my local church to get things in order, but a day will have to work for now!!  Outdated curriculum and broken toys were thrown away, while the other toys organized, boxed and put away for another day! 

I laughed as I found blocks in the stove and dress up clothes with the blocks.  Kids have an amazing way of integrating their lives into one big play area!  Our Children's Church room is a dream come true for me.  A huge open room with plenty of space for centers and free play!  I love these kids!

The waffle blocks, legos, duplo, wooden and various other assortments of blocks are some of the favorite toys.  They were my boys' toys first.

As I sort and throw and reflect, I become more thoughtful.  

What if someone wouldn't of reached out to my Mom and I?  Where would I be today without the influence of engaged and invested people?  

Insignificant experiences it seemed at the time, but rolled into the essence of my life, they became life-altering.  

What if Aunt Ally had not been noisy and got in our business?  Where would I be if she had not sent my cousins to rescue us and bring us back to South Dakota?  What if she had not loved my Mom and I and told us about Jesus?  What if she didn't use tough love to teach my Mom to be a Mom?

What if I would not have fallen in love with animals and books?  How would I have learned?  Where would I be without the love of learning?  What would my life have been like without the book mobile and hours in the manager with a book and a horse?

What if Mr. Stepina walked away from me, avoiding confrontation like most authority figures did?  Where would I be if he hadn't pulled me aside to the bench in the entry and told me that he was worried about me and that he cared about me?

What if my Mom didn't speak about education incessantly until its value was woven into my being?  Where I be if she had not packed my bags and hauled me to college over my continuous doubt and internal resistance?  What if she had not known my strengths and my calling and pointed them out to me?








What if my Dad didn't adopt me?  Where would I be without his love and direction and the five sisters?  How would I have learned leadership and family and work and conservation?

What if my birth Dad had forgotten me and given up on me or worse, pretended I didn't exist?  Where would I be without the validation that I was never forgotten?  What would it be like to not be part of him and two more sisters?

What if.... 

What if we do not reach out to that little boy or girl in our neighborhood or avoid the haggled Mom in the grocery store?

What if we do not tell our children we love them and put them first in our lives?

What if we do not be vulnerable and real and honest and "get into" the lives of others?

What if...

What if I don't take a week to spend with girls who have seen and experienced life in a way that no one should have to?  What if they grow up believing that is all there is in life?

Please consider.  You might be the what if in someone's life today.