Dear Becky and friends,

Remember when we used to talk on the phone for hours about all of the places we wanted to see? I remember Maine being pretty high on the list. I haven't make it there yet, have you? Remember how we used to talk about Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, delighting in the verses and passages we had just discovered? We together had such a love for beauty and for romance, even the romance of dancing colors or captivating song. We had big dreams for each other - huge dreams. They didn't involve prestige or accomplishment, but they did involve experiences that were deep and rich. We didn't long for trophies, we longed for stories. How is your story coming along? Are you giving it a chance? Are you lingering in a moment long enough to let the colors sink in and the melody haunt you?

You're in Turkey now; I'm close to St. Louis. You are a wife and mother of two, bringing love, comfort, and stability to your family. You are a military wife living in gentleness and strength. You fight your battles, but you also accept unfortunate circumstances with grace. You are raising two children away from your own family and the places that watched you grow up. You are a supporter, encourager, comforter, lover, teacher, entrepreneur, healer, and disciplinarian.

As for me, I am a single career woman, an educator, a mentor, and a friend. I'm living on my own, often wondering what it would be like to have a husband and children. I often long for someone to be there with me in the evenings, someone who at the end of the day cared about what I was thinking and feeling. I want someone to unconditionally love me when the busyness of the day has passed so that I don't have to carry every sting and arrow to bed with me that night. I desire someone to love, someone to cherish, someone to care for. I wonder what it would be like to have someone who has committed to stay by my side as long as we both shall live. I wonder what it would be like to have the well-being of two precious little lives entrusted into my care. I wonder what it would be like to have someone looking forward to coming home to me.

But I wonder if you wonder about me. Do you wonder what it might be like to be twenty-five and single, not even a boyfriend, not even a dog, and certainly no consideration of children? Do you wonder what it might be like to only consider yourself as you think about the future? Do you wonder what it might be like to do absolutely anything you want with your weekend or to have the financial freedom of an unmarried person without kids?

I imagine you do think about those things from time to time, just as I imagine life in your shoes. You might long for more "me time," while I long for the blessing of having a companion. You might wonder how in the world your life got so complicated; I, with all of the freedom in the world, worry about making a misstep, and having no one there to even miss me, let alone rescue me. Yet, I think God knows what He is doing as He leads us on in life. God is my refuge after all; He will never leave me alone and forgotten on the dark side of the Earth somewhere. And, in the mist of the military, money, and the terrible twos, God is able to quiet your heart and give you as strong a sense of self as that of any single woman. And, I am learning more and more, that whether God gave us a husband or singleness, kids or a career, Turkey or St. Louis, they are just that - gifts from God.

I miss you, Becky. I miss you, friends. How is your story coming along? Are the experiences rich and deep? Are they full of color and haunting melody? Are you wishing for another plot line? Well, I have another plot line, but I don't think you want it. I'm not sure the melody I have would go with your harmony, and vice versa. We better just drink deep of the riches we have. Wow, the fireflies seem climb on the thick Illinois air. And, wow, I wonder which road I will choose next year. It's amazing how the light catches the highlights in your daughter's hair. And aren't the notes of your children's laughter intoxicating?

The rest of you, how are your stories coming along? Are they full of trophies or of experiences? What are the colors and shades of your stories, and do you think you could describe some of your melodies to me?