Celebrate!

March 24th is my daughter, Abby's birthday. You better believe we will be celebrating!! I am a firm believer in dragging out a birthday celebration. On Sunday, when we were challenged to really celebrate life as Christians, I thought about this week and how it would be filled with Abby celebrations. Then I quickly thought about the real meaning of the challenge. Celebrating life with all that it has to offer. The good and the bad. The easy and the difficult. The obvious and the not so obvious. God quickly turned my heart to celebrating Abby's mom, Sarah Ellen.

Sarah crosses my mind more often than most would think. Being the step mom (or dad) is not always easy and requires much prayer. There are many challenges all step parents face. However, when a child loses a parent, you have big shoes to fill. You are entrusted with the rest of the story for that child. I assure you there is no room for selfishness.

I also assure you that there are days where I don't die to self fast enough. I made a decision early on that The Barron family was going to celebrate Sarah and Josh. I love Abby and Harrison and want to make sure they remember how important their mom and brother are. Therefore, pictures of Sarah and Josh are in our home. There are Christmas tree ornaments with their names we hang and we celebrate their birthdays.

I remember a day where Ridley and I weren't seeing eye to eye. A few days prior to that, I had been in my closet crying over my adjustment to having a teenage son. Feeling a bit unqualified, I decided to tackle some housework and vacuum. I wasn't just vacuuming. I was pushing that Dyson to the beat of my words through gritted teeth accompanied by frustration and fatigue. I looked up and saw a picture of Sarah. I immediately asked her, "Did you have to be so perfect?" I began to cry. In that moment, I had to make a decision to celebrate her. After all, that is what I wanted in our family. Nobody was watching so I could have gone about my own business, but I felt the Holy Spirit move in the room at that moment. The party started. God sent me an invitation to celebrate! He showed me that I needed to celebrate Sarah because Ridley, Harrison and Abby are who they are today as a result of being with her.

Just the other day, I was working long hours and away from my family. As I pulled out of the driveway of house number 17 my clients had looked at, I thought about Sarah. I wondered what she would think about me working long hours all the time and being away from my kids. I find myself piecing together stories and pictures to learn more about her. I even used pictures in Abby's room one night to talk to her about taking time to do her hair. I told her I knew her mom would want her to take good care of her hair after all the cute hair styles and bows I had seen in their pictures.

Celebrate! What does that really mean? It means regardless of circumstances you and I must celebrate every situation. Celebrate the days it feels good and the days it doesn't make any sense. Celebrating means trusting that God has put you right where you are for a reason.

I am excited to celebrate my daughter's 12th birthday. I can't tell you how much she weighed exactly or what time of day she was born. I can tell you I am excited about being a part of the rest of her life and I celebrate Sarah for being a great mom.