Last Day of the Year

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas with our family in Missouri. My in-laws moved into their long-awaited new home just days before we arrived. The home is amazing and I am thrilled for my mother-in-law. There's tons of room for Jackson to run and play there. We got him a Little Tikes bounce house for Christmas and we were able to blow it up in the basement. He had the most fun! My husband has a very close, very loving family and my life has definitely been made richer by them. I kept thinking about how blessed my son is to have all these people love him. I have more to say but I will save that for later on when I am ready to post pictures.

The Jones crew rolled into town at about 10:00 last night. Our trip was ten hours from beginning to end, but we made two major stops along the way. That was huge. I've been making the drive with Curt for 7.5 years and the longest stop we've ever made was to eat Wendy's in the parking lot or for me to run in to Walmart for baby food. I've spotted interesting places along the way that I've always wanted to visit, but they've only taunted me as my back ached from being glued to a chair for unending hours.

Something must have gotten into Curt because not only did we stop at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, but it was his idea. It certainly wasn't a fun stop, but we felt very blessed to get to see it and to pay our respects to those who died and to those who were forever changed on that day. We were too late to visit the museum, but I hope to go back one day. The thing that moved me most at the memorial was seeing all the chairs that represent the absence of each of one the victims. It was horrible to see the small chairs that were for the children who died. Someone wrote on a card attached to a chain link fence, "Remember the babies." How unspeakably heartbreaking. One of the adult-sized chairs had a large, fresh bouquet of flowers attached to it. It was wrapped up in tulle, which made me think it would have been that particular woman's wedding anniversary. It struck me that this memorial was not old. The tragedy it represents was did not take place in another lifetime. Each one of the victims is still being missed by their families and friends. There are teenagers in Oklahoma City who lost a parent in the bombing. I loved the mournful statue of Jesus across the street from the Memorial. His hand is over his face and the inscription says, "Jesus wept." I imagine it has ministered to many hearts through the years. It certainly did mine.

Things like the Oklahoma City Bombing, like the recent assassination of the first female prime minister of a Muslim country, like devastating natural disasters, like the war in Iraq, like just about everything profiled on all the year-end recap programs make me think one thing. How could anyone take a good look at this place and not say, "This world needs a Savior!"? Here's to the hope that one year in our lifetime our Savior will come get us before we have to watch or read another depressing "Year in Review." Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay." (Hebrews 10:35-37)