I have always had some sort of fascination with numbers.

One of those I have recently grown more and more fond of. 8.13.13

The beginning of a journey that I never could have predicted. The day that Elizabeth Grace was born. The 4th child in our family.

At Ellie’s visitation, we were brought the gift of a beautiful picture with one of the most important verses in my life.

These 3 remain. They ebb and flow, these 3 things, Faith, Hope and Love. And at any particular time, one of them may be more prevalent than another.

This gift was such a blessing to us at such a difficult time. It signified so much. The thoughtfulness of the giver. It is beautiful, and I know so is the heart behind it. The meaning of it to so many throughout time, including us. To me, to our family, and to God. I know each one of us have very different experiences in life. Whether we were in our mother’s tummy, to not see the light of day, or whether we are grown and have seen the sun rise and fall over and over again.

One day a few weeks ago, I was walking through our neighborhood with a friend of mine and our children. At the end of our neighborhood, there is one of my most favorite houses. It has a beautiful courtyard, and something about it just speaks to me. There is also a beautiful wooden bench in front of it, with a verse carved in it. This verse…my verse. Now our verse.

1 Corinthians 13:13

It says this:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

And, it occured to me, somehow for the very 1st time. That is her date. 8.13.13 the day I held Ellie in my arms for the 1st time. And looked at Bill and said she is perfect. The words, “she is perfect.” just came out, and at that time, I had no idea the gravity of what those words would mean to me just a few years later.

The gift that we were given to remind us of a verse, and coincidentally, the day that Ellie was born. Something about these numbers. It gave me chills and stopped me in my tracks. I shared what I just discovered with my friend, and there was no doubt in her mind, that something was happening through these numbers.

So, this weekend, we went to Lubbock to see our oldest son and spend the Easter weekend with him. Unfortunately, our other son and his girlfriend were not able to make the trip with us. We are trusting that we enjoy time with them soon.

We enjoyed the weekend, keeping life simple and exploring Lubbock. One thing that was important to me was to attend church. Since we were somewhere we didn’t live, we took the recommendation of a friend. A few days prior, I looked up the church, and noticed there are several locations for this church. After I looked up the various locations, I picked one, based on logistic locations. As I pulled up the map this Easter Sunday, the numbers were brought to my mind in quite a peculiar way.

1313 13th St.
Lubbock, TX 79401

What!?!?

Just struck me and I didn’t share with anyone around me this seemingly strange coincidence. I did, however, feel an overwhelming feeling that Ellie was saying Hello through this. You see, Easter, without your youngest child with you, is quite tough. I think some of us in our family tried to pretend that it isn’t. Creating new memories, new adventures, and embracing the life that we now live.

This weekend we saw Prairie Dog Town. So, it’s totally a thing. Who knew!? Those prairie dogs are pretty cute, and fascinating. Then we walked around and enjoyed some gorgeous cars – 1963 and older. Why can’t I have 1 of those!? 😂😂😂. I love me some beautiful older cars, steel bodies, engines that rumble and roar, and the beauty of a simple car interior. Then we enjoyed a nice dinner with our daughter, son and his friends! Good company, beautiful weather, and a gorgeous West Texas sunset.

W

We attended a Sunday service at this church, and as we watched videos of Jesus on the cross. And, it made me mad. Mad that Jesus went through such physical and emotional pain. Mad, that as Christians, we seem to tend to view this as such a beautiful thing. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. Bloody and beaten, we give thanks and sing Hallelujah that our sins are forgiven. Now, with the loss of Ellie, I really try not to ask the questions why. I don’t think I would get an answer that would make me feel any better. In fact, the answer might just make me more angry.

Before Ellie passed away, I would think about what a sacrifice it was for God to give His only son. And, as I reflect back, I didn’t often think about Mary and Joseph and how it felt for them. To lose Jesus. They were on this earth, walking and moving around, not up there like God himself. They had wrapped their arms around Jesus. Cared for him, snuggled him. Done their best to keep him out of harms way. I know most of you would agree that there is nothing quite like babies and puppies. We oooh and awe at them. Our hearts are full when we snuggle them.

This world we live in is quite peculiar. This Christian thing is really pretty wild and crazy.

Onward we move…with

Faith, Hope, and Love.

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