A God Sized Adventure

Any good story - even a good love story (maybe especially a love story) - has an element of adventure in it. My sister is living that kind of adventure right now. It's a great story, really.

She became reacquainted with a man she dated (and broke up with) 20 years ago. The truth is, she always wondered if she missed Mr. Right - by breaking off her relationship with Vince the Prince (we've always called him that - and he is, a prince of a guy). They got married almost two years ago. That's the romantic part.

The adventure part is that he has 5 kids that he has custody of. After the second set of twins - that's right - 2 sets of twins - his first wife decided that she didn't want to be married any more, or be responsible for raising 5 kids. When the marriage broke up the youngest twins were still in diapers. Vince entered survival mode. He quit work to take care of his kids - something few men would do. Still, it was survival mode.

Some of the finer points, like well balanced meals and sitting together at the dinner table went by the wayside. It had to. It's also difficult to have quality time with 5 kids when you're the only stable influence in their lives. But they made it through. God brought my sis and Vince the Prince together. Now there are two adults in the house, and truly, no one is better suited to love Vince and the kids than my sister.

She has the patience of Job. She listens - really listens. She doesn't like to cook but she does it anyway so that the kids will learn to eat well-balanced meals. She's bringing the finer points back into their lives. But it's slow going. Today my sister was tired and frustrated. She's an introvert who needs time alone to recharge her batteries, and today her batteries were running low.

Though it's hard going sometimes, this God-sized adventure is making a profound difference in the lives of 6 people for sure. Those 6 influence the lives of others, and on and on... So, my sweet sister, hang in there. Keep at it. Beyond, behind, and below the fatigue and frustration there is glory.

Always, Joyce