Today is special as my great aunt Christabell Gilcreast is 100 years old today! As I’m writing this, I’ve already called her and greeted her with birthday wishes. My heart is full of joy to see her reach this milestone. It is a true blessing.
Aunt Christabell has witnessed so many remarkable moments. She worked as an elementary teacher and retired in 1982, almost 40 years ago. That is remarkable in and of itself; a retirement that lasts just as long as the career you retired from. She has shared stories about children she’s taught to read or ones who needed special attention. Today, she told me about reconnecting with a former 2nd grade pupil who later on became a friend of my aunt. Aunt Christabell remembered her face and her nickname even thought she hadn’t seen her since teaching her as a 7 year old.
One of her favorite phrases still tickles me. It refers to the changes she noticed through the years in her students as parenting evolved; ‘They just feed them and let them grow.” As you can imagine, she was quite the task master in the classroom. Yet, just as loving and supportive. My Dad just recently shared with me how my aunt and uncle, just a few years apart, were going to be in college at the same time. My grandfather made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t going to be able to pay tuition for the both of them. So one of them would have to sit out. Aunt Christabell stepped in and paid the difference so they both could pursue higher education.
Aunt Christabell and I share more than our love for education and family. We are also both a part of the infertility community as she never had any children of her own. When I asked her about the details of her journey, she only said that she couldn’t have any children. I imagine that the technology of that day didn’t provide all of the insight we have access to today. She never expressed any sadness about it. She would rather focus on the blessing of being the last of her siblings to still be on ‘this side of the ground’.
Today is an opportunity to mark the moment for Aunt Christabell. I honor her for all of the love and care she’s given to all of us. I celebrate the impact she’s made in my life and how she’s persevered while living life child-free. It has been a pleasure to dote on her as I would have my grandmother and I’ve relished the love she’s poured on me like a granddaughter.
These words are a monument to honor all that the Lord has done for her and all that He has done for me. As she has experienced ups and downs and still proclaims the goodness of God and so will I. She is a testament to thriving and living a life of love and I can do that too. I am more than infertility and no matter what God has for my family I can hope, wait, and thrive.
We all have the choice to mark our moments. Whether we have a relative who becomes the newest centenarian or not, we have moments to mark. Mark connection, mark endurance, mark joy! Let’s open our eyes and embrace the gifts we’ve been given. And if we look really hard and don’t find any moments to mark, be the moment and mark your own beauty. It deserves a celebration too.
HOPE-Filled Thought: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
Prayer: Thank you Lord, for Godly examples in our lives. Bless those we love and bind us together that we might encourage each other in ways that help us to grow and to serve each other. We honor you with our lives and ask that you strengthen us in all we do. We receive it with joy and it is so. Amen.
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