“Our lives are made of stories: stories handed down from our parents, stories we have created out of our experience, stories about our loves, our work, our explorations, our joys, our disappointments, our learnings – the soul’s story.”

-Susan Wittig Albert

I am beginning to write now because something is ending.

Although I always acknowledged the inevitability and impermanence of our little world - like a haze on the horizon - the passage of time has somewhat inconspicuously crept in. The seasons, move and change seamlessly one to the next. There is continuity; and each is part of the whole, but winter does not look like spring, nor summer like autumn. The old way that I have lived life is slipping through my fingers; almost gone, and the new is almost upon me.

And so, I want to reflect. And I want to remember. And I want to record our journey together thus far.

These are our stories as pulled up from my memory…the way that I perceive events…the way that I recall them. Your own stories of these times may not be the same, but that does not matter. They are still true.

Throughout our days, I have been conscious of a golden thread; a thread which continues to weave in and out our lives, creating a beautiful tapestry. “Love is as strong as death,” writes the biblical author. “its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, rivers cannot wash it away.” (Song of Songs 8: 6-7). Through the good, the bad and the ugly I stand firm on the conviction that God loves us; and because we have lived so closely with each other we have learned how to live a life punctuated by love; now it is my prayer that all we have known and experienced of love will freely flow from this "French Fancy" home, into every nook and cranny of our crazy, mixed up, beautiful world.

I trust that these stories will serve to remind you of a sure foundation, and give you hope and courage to navigate the onward journey.