Where has the time gone?

Today we celebrate our 20 year high school reunion. 20 years!  I used to watch movies like Peggy Sue Got Married and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion when I was younger and think, wow...one day that will be me attending my own high school reunion and just imagine all that I will have accomplished by then. Maybe I will inspire someone will write a best selling novel or I could invent something amazing that every household would use. What if I could do something that would make a lasting impression on the world around me?  The world was my oyster and I just needed to go out and find my treasure. Why not?  That's what happens in the movies, right? Maybe I graduated at the top of my class at a very prestigious university and moved on to a successful career in business or possibly skipped college altogether to back pack through Europe in hopes of finding myself while documenting my experiences and penning a notable memoir or better yet, maybe I dropped out of college to invent social media apps and now make more money than our entire graduating class combined!  Well,  my story is nowhere near as exciting as the Harvard graduate, the soul searching traveler, or the social media mogul. Fast forward to today and I must admit that there have been no best selling novels that I have inspired, no successful inventions, nothing extraordinary.  I guess you could say that there really is not a whole lot to mention regarding  significant accomplishments...or are there? What I do have to share is a simple tale of a girl who wanted nothing more in life than to grow up with hopes of becoming a terrific mommy to her children and a doting wife to her husband. Sounds simple, doesn't it?  After all, how hard can it actually be to be a good mother and wife and raise a  God loving family?  Well, let me just say that the reality is far more rewarding than anything you could ever prepare for. Yes, there will be ups and downs and good times and bad, but with God first in your life, the good times will always outweigh the bad and there will be more ups than downs making it Your story  which no one can take away from you.  The challenge is to hold on through the rough times knowing that in the end, God's grace will get you through and make you better for it. Easier said than done, right? But I can honestly say that it because of the hard times we have endured that my relationship with my husband has grown closer than ever and my relationship with my children is one that is better than any I could have ever imagined.  Our kids actually like to hang out with us and spend time with us...at least they do now. I know that one day that may not be the case, but at least for now the foundation has been laid for a close family and will continue to flourish throughout the years with the grace of God.  So although I may not have the riches and successes that others have achieved since our high school days, I can honestly say that I have found my triumphs in my family and there is no amount of money or success that could ever replace that.