For My Niece

My oldest niece graduated from high school today. I was only 14 when she was born, and if you had tried to tell me then that I would marry her mother's brother, I would have laughed at the obvious improbability of your prediction. Were there not already plenty of evidence in the world that our God has a sense of humor, I would offer as evidence His liking for making me do things I said I would never do. My marrying the man I did, given our history of interactions up until the day God started messing around with my heart, would be top of the list. The very first conversation I had with my now husband (I was about 12 and he was about 15) he made fun of my being homeschooled. (Yes. I was homeschooled, the old-fashioned, uncool way.) I don't remember all the details of the conversation. I probably said something very immature and silly in my defense, but I do remember thinking later, 'well, public school obviously did you well, teaching you to pick on a younger kid and make fun of the educational decision their parents made for them, cause I know your momma didn't teach you that.' (He fell for me, though didn't he? Hahaha!) Yet more evidence of God's sense of humor, we just got done with our second year homeschooling through a special program (the same fully accredited homeschool program my niece just graduated from). My husband is now the parent of homeschooled children, and his homeschooled wife is teaching them. Hahahaha! See. God doesn't just like doing those kinds of things to me. I'm pretty sure it works across the board. Now, my youngest son (the one with autism) will be going back to public school this next year (I'm actually getting more and more excited as I process this recent development), and this post isn't intended to applaud or condemn one educational method or the other. It's actually about my niece and her graduation, I promise. See, she's the reason we made the decision to try the homeschool program in the first place. This whole homeschool thing, at least for my husband, started with her. She's the one that changed his mind about homeschooling, not me. She is the product of a parent led home education program, the same one we hope our oldest (and maybe eventually our other two) will graduate from MANY years from now, and I'm really proud to say that.

I've been through my rough moments, regretted marrying the man I did and thought through plenty of 'what-ifs' and 'if-onlys' to eventually come around convinced that I have received more blessings having been with my husband than without him. While there are obviously three very important little blessings that would be at the top of that list, one of the other blessings would be my niece. I know it's common to list the memories you have, mostly embarrassing (why is that?), of someone reaching one of these milestones (like the time she was convinced that I spray painted my toe nails), but I think I'd rather just say I wish I had had more time to get to know her. Any time I see her, we're able to talk, and I mean really talk. It's nice. Makes me feel less old and out of touch with reality that an 18 year old can enjoy a conversation with me. Well, I guess I might be assuming a lot with that last statement. She could just be humoring me because she's too nice to abruptly end the conversation and leave, but I enjoy our conversations. I'm very proud of her. You know how you tend to say that a lot about the kids in your life. It's almost expected to say that at ball games, awards ceremonies and graduations, but I really mean it. I'm proud to call her my niece, nose piercing and all, and I'm so glad I married her uncle and got to be a part of her wonderful family.

It's also common for us old people to give the young'uns advice as they embark on their life as an adult. Well, my sweet, awesome Niece, I wish I had some advice to give that would blow your socks off. One of those gems you'll look back on when you watch your niece walk across that stage and think to yourself, 'holy moly, where did the time go?' The truth is, I don't. I still feel as lost and unsure many times now as I did the day I finished high school (I didn't get a graduation, though, maybe that would have helped). I will say that there will come a point when you have to stop preparing for your life and start living it, and I mean really living it. You will have all kinds of voices telling you what you should do and not do with your life. They'll chime in with their opinions on the big and the small decisions. You'll be motivated by many of their words. You'll be hurt by many, too. The best advice I can give you is to learn how to filter all the advice you get through God's Word and the convictions He's given you because when it comes time to live out the decisions you've made, God is the only one who will ALWAYS be there. You won't be able to stand alone and make things happen based on what someone else thinks you should do. It's gotta be you. It's gotta be yours. It's your life, and you're the one living it. Live it well, Baby Girl. Live it well.