I haven’t posted here in a while. I guess I haven’t had much to say…for those of you who know me, I know that’s hard to believe. Sometimes we have times in our lives when things are just “different” and we find ourselves dealing with them in a way we weren’t expecting, and I guess maybe that is where I am right now.
Back at the end of May, our daughter left and went on a 3 month trip to Busan, South Korea…yes…South Korea! Now you might ask, why South Korea, after all, it isn’t noted for being the “hottest vacation spot of 2019”. The short version is that she is staying with a family that she got connected with in Lincoln while she lived there, they are from this city in South Korea, they asked her to come, so she did. She had never flown before, let alone setting off on international journey…ALONE and for 3 months!! Her dad and I were terrified, but I was told once by a very wise man, who’s own daughter did international mission trips, that as much as we love our kids, God loves them more and He is with them always…WOW! I can’t tell you how many times I have had to remember that conversation and keep it close to my heart. We had to put on our brave faces for sure!
May 30,2019 Sea-Tac International Airport
What started out as tomfoolery, ended up becoming a prayer. Mark and I really were hoping that Alex would meet someone special before leaving on this trip. We didn’t want her meeting the love of her life in Korea and then end up moving there!! About a month before her trip, enter Jesse, a definite God send, and an answered prayer. A boy from Georgia, a girl from Nebraska, meeting in Oregon… Perfect timing…God’s timing always is. The day came when it was time for her to leave. We wore our smiles, shed some tears… and we put on our brave faces.
“It’s ok to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave”
Brave faces are worn for many reasons, not just because you, or someone you know is getting on a plane and flying across the world for the first time. The woman who has had a miscarriage and her husband who loves her, the groom on his wedding day, the father of the bride…giving his daughter away, the husband who has just lost his wife and still has little children to care for, the parents who have lost children, the families who send their soldiers off to battle, the policeman or fireman leaving for work in the morning and the wife that he kisses on his way out the door, the person who is “coming out” to their loved ones, the man or woman who has decided it is time to end a marriage… and the list can go on and on and on, we all have our own brave faces. What does your brave face look like?
My son, Andrew at the Space Needle. May 29, 2019
“The thing about being brave is it doesn’t come with the absence of fear and hurt. Bravery is the ability to look fear and hurt in the face and say move aside, you are in the way.” ~ Melissa Tumino
This is one of the first pictures we got from Alex when she got to Korea. That is quite the brave face!
Since Alex has been in Korea, I have found myself, at times, feeling very fragile, for lack of a better word. It’s an interesting feeling to say the least, and one that I am not used to. For instance, yesterday at church, it was time to “Pass the Peace” and I almost didn’t have any peace to pass…I felt lost, and since we are being honest, the tears came and rolled down my face with an ease that I didn’t even realize. Isn’t it interesting how feelings can just sneak up on us and catch us completely off guard? I can tell you with 100% certainty that if it were not for today’s technology allowing us to video chat etc. with her…I would be a basket case and my brave face would look a lot different.
The first picture that I used in this post, is posted to my Facebook page. I took it last Saturday and I had used the caption; “There is always a reason to smile…Find it.”, and I really do believe this to be true. We have all been through some tough times in our lives, but there is always something to smile about…a memory, a lesson learned, people who were there for you during your hard times…take the time to look and you will find that reason…I promise! It’s ok to be sad or mad or whatever other emotion you need to have, but don’t unpack and live there. Deal with it in your way and then move on…and put a smile back on your brave face.
Keeping it Real 