His Easter Basket’s Never Empty

It’s story time, y’all.

A few weeks ago my mom told me about a girl from our church, just a couple years older than my brother, who had recently given birth to a baby girl.  And while babies are incredible blessings and worthy of celebration no matter what, one can’t help but anticipate the obstacles facing this young single mom.  Remembering this brand new mommy as a little girl, my mom wanted to send her a letter, or rather send her baby a letter, in hopes that she would someday know just how special her mother is.  So rather than me retelling the story, I asked my mom if I could share her letter here:

Dear Kennedy,

I must tell you this story about your mother.  It is a memory I have treasured in my heart for many years.  Sixteen years ago I had a little boy named Daniel.  We were so excited when your Great Grandpa Dalton Stewart chose Daniel to play Baby Jesus in the Christmas program.  He seemed like the most perfect little boy, but after a few months we found out he had cerebral palsy.  He had a hard time walking, so he used a little walker to help him get around.

Even as a little boy he wanted to do what all the other kids were doing.  So when I read about the Broadview Baptist Church Easter Egg Hunt, I knew we would give it a try.  This was Daniel’s first egg hunt, so I carefully explained what would happen when we got to the playground at church.  He was ready and so excited about finding the hidden eggs.

The Easter Egg Hunt didn’t last long.  There were probably about 20 little children racing around the playground filling their baskets with all the eggs they could find.  Everyone was having a great time.  Did I say everyone?  Well, not everyone.  I was kind of sad watching Daniel.  By the time he spotted an egg, someone else would claim it, so his Easter basket remained empty.  It didn’t seem to bother him, though.  He kept trying.  I knew then what a special little guy he was.  He didn’t give up.  By the end of the hunt, Daniel had not found one single egg.

Now we get to the good part about your precious mother.  She, being the sweet, giving angel that she is, noticed the little boy who had trouble walking.  She saw that his Easter basket was empty.  This touched her precious heart, and do you know what she did?  She gave Daniel all the Easter eggs in her basket.

I will always remember the huge smile on Daniel’s face as he accepted your mom’s gift.  Daniel is 16 now and through the years people have shown him many acts of kindness.  It was this Easter egg gift that will mean the most.  Daniel has not had to go through life with an empty Easter basket, because of people like your sweet mother.  We will always remember her and thank God for the way she blessed our family.

We ask God to richly bless you and your precious mom.

Lynn Reed

It’s true; there are several stories of those who have reached out in kindness to my brother throughout the years.  I think this one is my favorite.  And I’m thankful it gets to live on another generation.

25 Things

I am cracking up at how this has taken over Facebook these days!  By now you all know what to do … tag me back if you do it!

1. I was once held at gunpoint while the gunman tried to steal my car.  He couldn’t get it to start, however, so he stole my friend’s car instead.
2. I was an only child for eleven years.  I used to refer to myself as a “lonely child.”  Even though technically I am now the eldest, I still maintain my only child personality in many respects.  As does my younger brother, despite technically being the youngest.
3. I don’t have a sister, but my cousin Jayme might as well be … we grew up fighting like sisters.  These days I never get tired of having her around.  I love her SO much, and I am so thankful that as of this year we get to live in the same town!
4. My best friend growing up was also named Sarah.  And we have the same middle name.  And it’s spelled in a semi-unusual way … Kaye.  And we’re both named after our aunts.  On our moms’ side.
5. When I was in middle school I had a fanatical crush on John Travolta.  I was obsessed.  I would record episodes of Welcome Back Kotter on Nick at Nite.  I still have my Saturday Night Fever t-shirt.
6. I am not a fan of root beer, but I absolutely love root beer Dum Dums.
7. If I had a bucket list, I would be able to cross off “Run a marathon” and “Jump out of a plane.”
8. I am a multiple sneezer.  I hardly ever sneeze less than five times in a row, and I believe my record is twelve.
9. My hair is an ever evolving entity.  My mom never let me color it growing up, so that has become my benign method of rebellion.  Over the past four years or so I’ve gone blonde to dark, dark brown and everywhere in between.  I also like to grow it out long and then cut it super short.  Drastic changes usually coincide with major life changes, i.e. breakups, graduations, etc.
10. I don’t consider myself to be especially feminine, although I am somewhat girly about certain things.  Like nail polish.  I love it.  I usually paint my nails once a week, and I have a huge tote with almost any shade of red and pink imaginable.  (I’m not usually a crazy color girl, although I do have teal!)  I also really like makeup.  I have amassed quite the collection of Clinique Bonus samples.
11. It is my goal to see every movie that ever won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  Out of 80, I’ve seen 48 … and a half.  I still haven’t made it all the way through Lawrence of Arabia. 
12. I have a couple prerequisites for my future last name.  1) I would like to move up in the alphabet.  2) I would like a name more unusual than Reed.  I would also like to still have double letters, but that may be getting too picky.
13. If I could choose for myself any giftedness, it would be to sing uniquely and well, to play an instrument with true talent, and to write music and lyrics with life changing potential.   Really, any of the three would be nice.  I suppose I’ll just have to settle for being an appreciator.
14. My three favorite instruments in no particular order are the harmonica, the mandolin, and the cello.  My cousin’s is the triangle.  I got her one for her birthday.
15. I am convinced that music is an incredible didactic tool.  As much as effort as I put into memorizing scripture, it somehow falls out of my head after awhile.  Scripture in song, however, is there forever.  How fitting that the Psalms were meant to be sung!  I always try to incorporate music into my teaching, and I plan to do it as a professor someday as well.  You know, I can’t name a single character from The Scarlet Letter, but thanks to my senior English teacher Mrs. Whitaker, I sure as heck know that Heathcliff and Cathy are the stars of Wuthering Heights.  For four plus minutes of ever increasing hilarity: 
16. I’m really good at “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.”  If it weren’t for my fear of singing in front of people, I would totally try out.  I would have won $200,000 if I had been on the show one of the nights I watched.
17. I did win a computer for college at Project Graduation.
18. My first car did not have reverse.  I had to get really creative with parking.
19. I am conflicted about having children.  Sometimes I want four – two boys and two girls – so that everyone can have a sister AND a brother.  Other times I think, “I hope I’ll love my OWN children.”  However, when my friend Stacey had her first child Molly, that fear was pretty much alleviated.  I love that kid so much!
20. If I could perfectly emulate anyone’s style & wit it would have to be Lorelai Gilmore’s.
21. I am a firm believer in the power of words.  Life and death, friends, life and death.  To this day I can remember very vividly words people have spoken to/about me, both for the good and the bad.
22. I really like to be right.  Sadly sometimes I prefer being right over being liked.
23. The first rated R movie I ever saw was Stand by Me.  My family was watching it and allowed me to stay with them in the living room if I covered my eyes during the throw up scene.  I peeked.
24. I thoroughly enjoy reading things aloud to others.  If you and I are at Blockbuster, you can be pretty sure I’ll try to read you the back cover of at least one movie.  One summer at volleyball camp, my friend Tracy was reading a John Grisham book that I had already read.  She had about fifty pages left, and I convinced her to let me read them to her so I could see her reaction to the twist at the end.
25. I love, love, love being on the roof.  I wanted to have my 13th birthday on the roof of the Grace Museum, but it was too expensive.  When I was a dorm director my building had a flat roof, and when the weather was nice I would go up there during the day to lay out (I lugged a lawn chair up there all by myself) and at night to pray.  I took my staff up there a couple times (shh … don’t tell) and got caught by the UCO police once when I took my cousins and aunt up there.  To commemorate my last week as a hall director, a friend of mine and I spent the night up there.  It was SO uncomfortable (read: sleeping on rocks, literally), but totally worth it.

2008: Another Illustrated Year in Review

Last year I started a new tradition.  Rather than sending out a Christmas card letter, I wrote a Christmas card letter blog … 2007: An Illustrated Year in Review.  It was a great way to reflect on the past year (good times and bad) and share my experiences with others, not to mention giving myself something to look back on and remember 2007.  So as 2008 has come and gone, I am attempting to answer Jonathan Larson’s melodic question, “How do you measure, measure a year?”

IN JOBS

2008 was my last year in residence life after three years as an RA and four as a Hall Director.  After deciding (finally) to go back to school in the fall, I closed down West Hall for the last time in May.  I have so many great memories from my years at UCO, and it was certainly hard to leave.  I especially miss all my RAs (my favorite part of the job was leading the staff) and fellow HDs.  Soon after moving to Wheaton, I began working at Bath & Bodyworks and then in the fall picked up a job watching a couple boys after school three days a week.  About midway through the semester I also started tutoring a girl for the ACT.  I didn’t necessarily plan to work that much, and it was definitely a hard balancing act with the demands of graduate school.  I hope to cut back or at least balance a little better this spring.

IN MILES

Hmm, I guess this applies in more ways than one!  If I hadn’t completely uprooted and driven over a thousand miles across the country to begin school this fall, I would certainly count running a marathon as the year’s highlight.  Back last fall my good friend Jamie volunteered to train and one my first marathon with me in April.  We logged many a mile over our five months of training, becoming quite1450 familiar with almost every street in Edmond and on a few long runs, Oklahoma City as well.  We had a good race and met my initial goal of breaking five hours with a time of 4:43:34.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t beat Oprah, but there’s always next time … the Chicago marathon is calling my name!

IN GOODBYES

After graduating from OBU in 2004, I immediately moved to Edmond to start my job at UCO.  For four fun years I lived there, and deciding to move away brought a lot of sad goodbyes.  I had the best friends!  A few weeks before I left, my friend Melissa arranged a “slumber party card night” for a few of us that usually got together on Sunday nights.  When I got to her house, it turned out that it was actually a surprise Chicago themed going away party!  Sydnie (one of my very best friends who moved away at the beginning of the year) drove in from Tulsa, and a couple other friends were in from out of town as well.  We played cards (of course) and ate Old Chicago pizza while listening to Chicago (the band) and then watched Chicago (the movie).  The highlight of the night was when the doorbell rang and Candace and Melissa were nowhere to be found.  Everyone looked at me as if it was my responsibility to answer the door.  When I opened it, Candace and Melissa were standing beside a brand new bike with a bow on it!  My sweet friends had all gone in together to replace my bike that was stolen earlier in the summer.  Yeah, did I mention I have the best friends?  The young adult pastor at my church also threw a going away swim party, and I was incredibly blessed by the prayers and encouragement from my brothers and sisters I had so grown to love over the past few years (not to mention being blessed by the amazing bible software I got as a going away gift).  Several of these same friends also showed up to carry boxes and furniture down a pretty narrow stairwell come moving day.  I tried to cram in as much quality time as possible my last night there: dinner with Stacey, prayer time with Conversation Cafe friends, a Wal-Mart run with Rodney, one last game of cards with Melissa, Candace, AnaLeah, and Michelle, and then a goodbye to Todd, Jeanna and Caed (in utero).  I think I cried at each goodbye.

IN FAMILY

I love my family so much, so I’m pretty excited for any occasion that brings us together.  I can count on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this year my cousin Ericka graduated from high school thus bringing us all together again.  I couldn’t wait to see my uncle Jay and give him the Tim Duncan jersey I got for $3 at a garage sale with Sydnie!  He wore it the next Spurs playoff game which unfortunately they lost.  This year also marked another momentous family occasion … Jayme & I getting to live in the same town!  Man, I love that girl; she’s the closest thing I have to a sister and I get to see her all the time now as we’re both at Wheaton.    My sweet, sweet parents and brother helped me get up there, and on the way we stopped in at my great aunt and uncle’s home in Iowa.  Of course we had to watch Field of Dreams.  The last time I’d visited there was about twenty years ago, so it was so interesting to see my grandfather’s home with grown up eyes.

IN CLASSES

The biggest change in my life over the past year was definitely my return to the classroom.  After tossing around the thought for several years, I finally decided on Wheaton and began their Biblical Exegesis program this fall.  This past semester I took Intermediate Greek, New Testament Theology, and Principles of Interpretation (the level of difficulty increasing respectively).  Principles was certainly baptism by fire.  I made it through my twelve page exegesis paper somewhat unscathed, however, and funfetti cupcakes have become my new celebratory indulgence.

IN VISITS

One of the best things about living in such close proximity to Chicago is people’s willingness to come and visit!  A couple weeks after I moved to Wheaton, a couple HHBC friends stopped in for a couple days on their way back to Oklahoma from Michigan.  I had such a blast with Rachel and Jenny and got my first chance to play tour guide … walking tour guide that is.  I bet we walked fifteen miles in one day.  In October my sweet friend and marathon partner Jamie came for a visit.  I gave her a jogging tour of Wheaton in addition to the soon to be trademarked “Sarah’s Walking Tour o’ Chicago.”  We entered our name into a drawing to win vouchers for discounted front row tickets to Wicked, and we won!  My aunt Kaye came up a few weeks later to bring my cousin her car, so the three of us put in the Chicago miles as well.  My last visit of the semester was from three of the card girls.  I was so happy to have AnaLeah, Michelle and Kelsey with me on their fall break.  They came to my NT Theo class Thursday night and then we spent the rest of the weekend in the city.  I won Wicked vouchers AGAIN, so Michelle got to sit front row on her birthday after having a hilarious birthday lunch at Ed Debevic’s.  We shopped the Mag Mile and did other touristy stuff having an incredible time.  Anyone else wanna come visit?  I’ve got the tour guide thing down.

IN FRIENDSHIPS

One of the hardest things about moving was leaving behind some incredible friendships.  From the card girls, to church friends, to the House Church/Coversation Cafe crowd, to coworkers, to Stacey (who defies any category), I was incredibly blessed in Oklahoma, and I knew those friendships couldn’t be replaced wherever I went.  Thankfully, there are great people in Illinois too!  I found a church I really loved relatively quickly after moving, and Susan and Marshall have been incredibly generous to host a 20-somethings small group in their home each week.  I became quick friends with Sharon, Jill and Kristi.  I also made a good friend my first week here after attending a random discussion group.  Kristine has since become my faithful concert buddy.  I’ve been nothing but impressed with my classmates and was thankful to have my co-exegesis friends Angie and Ashley each in one of my classes.  Emily’s a great roommate, and I couldn’t be more excited to have Jayme living just over a mile away.  She makes the family and the friendship category. 

IN CONCERTS

Yes, no end of year summation would be complete without a concert tribute.  I’ve already written about most of these, so we’ll just go with this year’s list:

• Derek Webb – University Baptist Church, Shawnee, OK
• Caedmon’s Call – The Door, Dallas
• Jenny Lewis – Epiphany, Chicago
• Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – Schuba’s, Chicago
• Don Chaffer – The Union, Naperville, IL
• Ray LaMontagne – Chicago Theatre, Chicago
• Andrew Peterson – Hickory Creek Community Church, Frankfort, IL
• Conor Oberst – The Vic, Chicago
• Over the Rhine – The Union, Naperville, IL
• Shawn McDonald – Willow Creek, South Barrington, IL
• Over the Rhine – Double Door, Chicago

Now that I have access to a plethora of great shows, I have reason to add a new list to this category … Shows I Wish I’d Been Able to See:

• Sam Phillips: No excuse!  I should have gone.  Looking back, I would have even taken a loss on a second ticket just to be there.
• Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God tour: Who cares that it was nearly two hours away on a school night?  I’ve been wanting to see this Christmas show for years, and it was finally going to be within a feasible driving distance.  A plague upon the paper that kept me at home!
• Derek Webb:  Only one thing could keep me from a solo acoustic Derek Webb show, and that would be the afore-cursed paper.  Yeah, I couldn’t really justify going the day before it was due.  I had hoped; it just didn’t happen.
• Bon Iver: A friend introduced me to this beautiful band earlier in the semester, and I was so excited to see he was playing The Vic in December.  Then I noticed the date was the same as one of my finals.  Seriously, Wheaton, you are completely interfering with my true purpose in living here!

IN MISCELLANEOUS

These are my honorable mentions, I suppose.  I certainly don’t want to forget:

• Volleyball nights at HHBC & Parkview
• My “Tribute to the Twenties” Finer Things Club invitation … No paper.  No plastic.  No talking about work.
• Henderson’s 20 Something Date Auction & subsequent date … Jamie and I raised over $400 auctioning ourselves off for missions, and we got to see Derek Webb. 
• Thursday night LOST parties with Todd & Jeanna
• My last West Hall Academy Awards Gala
• My last Strangers in the Night … my girls got me a date this year!
• Three weddings in two weeks … Kelsey, Anna and then Dave & Teresa
• Last weekend in OK road trip to Dallas … Jamie and I visited Kelly and got to see Shane Claiborne on the Jesus for President book tour.

Well, that about sums it up.  Until next year, friends …

I didn’t fight the law, and I won.

A couple weeks ago I tried to renew my driver’s license.  My Oklahoma one expired on Halloween, so on the day before, I did a little internet research to find out what all getting a new license entailed.  I called the DMV to ask what sort of ID I needed to bring, and as it turned out I had to have one of the following: 1) Birth Certificate, 2) Passport, or 3) An official sealed high school transcript.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of these in my possession … but really, who DOES have an official high school transcript (sealed, nonetheless) just sitting around?  Anyway, I immediately called my parents to have them send me my birth certificate, a little worried that I wouldn’t have a valid license for a few days.  It turned out that they had “misplaced” it (as they did my shot records a few years ago … another huge inconvenience in terms of enrolling in classes), but would get one to me ASAP.  I will count it to their credit, however; they did just that.  I don’t know how, but I ended up with a new birth certificate in my mail box by Monday.

In the meantime, however, I couldn’t just stop driving.  I had tickets to a concert in the city Saturday night, and I figured I’d be okay.  I hadn’t been stopped yet in Illinois, and for the most part I am a cautious and obedient driver (although Todd may beg to differ … I can hear the fake siren noises now).  Well the concert venue was either in or near (not quite sure what the boundaries are) Wrigleyville, so afterward I told Jayme I’d try to find Wrigley Field since she’s never seen it.  I knew it was somewhere north of where we were, but I wasn’t quite sure which street.  After I’d driven what I was sure was further north than I should have, I gave up, opting for continued directional orientation rather than a risk of getting lost.  I made a right turn and then another to turn south, and then all of the sudden I saw lights.

Yes, on the day after my driver’s license expired, for the first time in the three plus months I’ve lived here, I was getting stopped.  Perfect.

Now I’ve been stopped several times (probably around 10), so I’m no stranger to the protocol.  However, most times it’s been on the highway, which makes it easy to know when and where to pull over.  However, here I now was in a neighborhood with skinny streets and cars parked all along both sides.  I was driving really slow trying to find the best place to pull over … certainly they didn’t think I was trying to get away, but they still had to instruct me over the loud speaker to “STOP THE VEHICLE!”

So I stopped.  It turns out that I turned right on red at an intersection where that was a no-no, although I don’t remember seeing any signs.  The officer was a little confused as to why I was in Illinois, driving a car with Texas plates, with an Oklahoma drivers license … expired at that.  So I talked really fast, explaining that the car was in my parents’ name, I just moved here, and that I really had tried to renew my license two days before.  I even went into the whole “official sealed high school transcript” thing.

Now I mentioned before that I have been pulled over SEVERAL times.  I didn’t mention, however, that I have never gotten a ticket.  I don’t really know what to say except that I’m nice.  And compliant.  I always have my license and insurance all ready for the officer before they approach.  I’ve been given warnings and even told that my car was not a rocket, and therefore I shouldn’t drive it as one, but never once was I issued a ticket.

I figured this time might be different.  An expired license is a big deal, right?  Well, evidently it can be.  After the officer came back from I suppose running me through the computer, the first thing he said was that he “should” lock me up.  LOCK ME UP!  As in, go to jail.  In Chicago.  With my cousin stranded alone with no idea of how to get home.  However, he then followed that little bomb with a quick “Don’t drive,” after which he walked back to his car and drove off in less than 15 seconds.  No arrest, no ticket, no warning and “don’t drive” … wink, wink.

You would think after that little scare, I would have gotten my license the next day (or the day after that considering the next day was Sunday).  However, I’ve put it off for various reasons (the office was closed last Tuesday, I had a research paper due Thursday, etc), but today was the day!  I picked out my new drivers license outfit, carefully applied drivers license makeup and headed over this afternoon.  When I switched my license over from Texas to Oklahoma, it was somewhat of a hassle, but I didn’t have to take any sort of test.  However, there does happen to be a test for new Illinois residents.  They gave me a book to study until they called my name, which surprisingly didn’t take very long.  I had only gotten through a couple of chapters … and NOT the one including the traffic signs.  Anyway, I took my written test (which I haven’t had to do since Drivers Ed eleven years ago!!!) and did my best to make good guesses when I wasn’t sure.  As I stood in front of my test grader, I asked her how many I could miss and still pass.  Seven.  I missed six.  Drivers beware.  Nevertheless, I am now an officially licensed Illinois driver with a decent picture to boot.