Picture Memories

Last week I was reading Laura's blog and she said that she had seen some people who would go to their folder of pictures, go to the fourth folder, and pick the fourth picture to post and describe. I thought that was a pretty cool idea. So, I went to my pictures folder. Inside there I went to my fourth folder which was 1999 and then I went to the fourth folder, April (yes, I am so OCD that my pictures are oganized by year and then by month!). This was the only picture in the April 1999 folder so I picked it.

This picture brings back a lot of good memories and some sad ones. This was the spring of my freshman year in high school. It was taken at my friend, Mary Shaw's, house. Mary Shaw was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of our 8th grade year. She, being the trooper that she was, fought hard and went through chemo for the whole next year. In this picture, Mary Shaw had been told that she was in remission and her parents threw a party for all of our friends to celebrate. What a fun night! A night that we praised and thanked God! A night that we took the time to enjoy our friends. A night that we enjoyed being young.

Sadly, Mary Shaw died a year and a half after this picture. She is, to this day, one of the strongest people that I've ever known. She was always smiling and always the most positive person. She, of course, had down days and days when she felt awful. She went through a lot of treatment trying to cure her cancer but in the end God decided to take her home. As a 16 year old it's tough trying to figure out why God took one of your friends so early. And I'm not sure that I'll ever really understand why everything happens like it does. But I learned a lot about life from Mary. A lot about cherishing each second that you have with your family and friends. A lot about letting God make you happy and content instead of relying on your surroundings or your health to make you happy. A lot about trusting God just as much when you're in remission and feeling good as you do when you're in the hospital going through chemo. She was a great friend and I'm very blessed to have been a very small part of her life.

So tell me, who in your life has changed the way you see the world? And, while you're at it, go ahead and go through your pictures and pull up the 4th one in the 4th folder and tell us about it! Kelly and Jenni, I'd love to see your pictures!