One of the greatest things about having a heavenly Father is that He knows just exactly what you need when you need it!
When I was in university I met a wonderful family that allowed my to become one of them.
There was the dad… David and the loving mom, Juliet and then the 2 children. Jonathan was 4 and a bit when I met him and Jessica was 2. I ended up living with them and baby-sitting for room and board. But really that was just the technical stuff to make my parents feel OK with this arrangement. They truly adopted me.
David was the dean of men and Ju was a nurse. They lived on campus and so I had the best of both worlds. A great place to crash and yummy food and yet was still part of the campus life.
God placed this family in my life to show me what “normalness” was. It was a place where love was seen and heard. I had a healthy role model of what moms and dads should look like.
David has become my dad. Adopted yet more of a dad in so many ways. I remember the one night I stayed out too late. Ohhh… was I in trouble. I was on a date. I was in my own world. Yet, not being one to abuse the privileges I had, he was upset. He didn’t even talk to me when I came in.
Boy was I in trouble. Yet really he was simply worried about my saftety. I was out way too late. I had not told them where I would be or called. They were just worried. Later, when all was OK… he said, “Did you at least get a kiss out of it?”
Then there is Ju. This lady has a heart of gold. Yet if you get in Ju’s black book… you are done. I always prayed that I would ever do anything that would put me in Ju’s black book.
I look back now and continue to be amazed at how she opened her home and family so graciously and embraced me. She made the best Sabbath meals and always welcomed others to join.
She loves her children more than anything. Jono and Jess were blessed children.
This family still keeps in touch. Whenever they are in town (Toronto) with a huge family to see there, we always recieve a call and usually a surprise visit. They always say “your family…”
It is so wonderful to see the boys developing their own relationship with them now.
Sanj knew David from his days at university too. They were thrilled when I began dating Sanj. I remember Ju’s delighted squeal and David’s high five when I told them Sanj had kissed me.
This family changed my life in so many ways. I had safety with them. You don’t know what a gift that is especially if it is something that you take for granted.
Tomorrow we are going to Toronto to the funeral of David’s mom. She lived a good life and was 90 years old. She is at peace now. So we will celebrate her life.
I am so excited to see all of the family members. I feel like I am going home. I can’t wait to see and hug each of them!
I am so grateful that God in His wisdom placed people in my life to guide me, love me, and influence me in ways I could never see till much later.
This is a picture of David with the boys a few weeks ago.