Good Riddance

I was kidnapped last night. Only seconds after putting my daughter to bed, six women in not-so-dark clothing snuck in our garage and through our side door. Grabbing me by the arms they drug me to their get-a-way minivan and drove to an Underground location. The entire two and a half hours I was in their custody, it took all of my strength not to cry.

We sat and told stories about tantrums and tattoos, sex and childbirth, spanking and endowments. We tried to avoid contact with the intoxicated man who kept trying to talk to us. We laughed and laughed and quickly filled any silence. I couldn’t handle the quiet. Because when it got quiet, I was reminded of why we were there. They were saying good bye to me.

Background music played the whole time, but I don’t think any of them heard the songs. I really only heard one. Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life) by Green Day.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

I have had the time of my life. And I have been grabbed by the wrist and turned onto a fork in the road I would not have chosen. So here I am, trying to make the best of this test and not ask why. This fork wasn’t so unpredictable, though. I guess I always knew it was coming.

What has been unpredictable is that I would find such a life here in Searcy. First of all, I’m an ACU girl, we're taught quickly how dreadful Searcy is. Second, when we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas in January of 2002 my words were, “This state smells bad. We are NOT moving here.” Third, this was supposed to be a transitional place. And yet it’s where my life has become the best. It’s where I have become a person I feel really good about – for the first time.

Thank you to the women who showed up here last night (and the one who was home sick.) My steering team. My sisters. My examples. My friends. My God-in-the-flesh. You have touched me deeper than you will ever know. Leading with you has been such a blessing to me. God is crafting each of you into such awesome, awesome women. I think we're on the verge of seeing Searcy MOPS do some great things. I will pray every day that God blesses what you are doing.

Something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I have had the time of my life.