One Small Step

I’ll never forget my first day at Baylor.  My parents drove me down to good old Waco, Texas, and we spent all day unpacking in the blazing Texas heat.

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Being the first born, everything was new for them.  Everything was new for me.  Baylor seemed HUGE!  The dorm seemed HUGE!  I had a potluck roommate (who turned out to be the best match I could have dreamed of and one of my dearest friends!)  I had emotions running WILD in my body because this was uncharted territory for our whole family.  I was excited, nervous, anxious, scared, and I felt so grown up, yet not old enough to be there all at the same time.

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We had finished unpacking the car, the room was fairly settled, and I saw my mom tell my dad it was time to go.  What a strange feeling to be taken to another city and just left there.  Left!  They just dropped me off!  Was I ready for college?  As we said an emotional and tearful goodbye, I went back into my room to finish unpacking.  Almost immediately I opened the giant green rubbermaid box that held my shoes.  At the very top of the shoe pile, I saw this…

My little shoe.  Just one little scuffed up baby shoe with a little note rolled inside.  Sitting on the cold, hard, floor of dorm room #205, I read these sweet words,

Kate-

Today your mom and I take you to college.  This represents a big step in your life as we both took big steps 23 years ago.  We can no longer see you everyday, or even every week.  But we will pray for you every hour.  You will always be our little girl and our prayers have confirmed that you are at Baylor for a reason.  We love you!  -Diddy

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(I call my dad, “Diddy.”)

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I turned into a puddle of tears.  My roommate probably thought I was crazy. I’m pretty sure I was an emotional basket-case.

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Fast forward a few years. (When my dad wrote the note he probably didn’t know I would get married, move less than a mile away, and bring my little maniacs to their house almost daily.) This past Thursday I walked into my parents’ house, and this little shoe was sitting on their counter with the note still rolled inside.  I opened it, read it, and remembered reading it for the first time as if it were yesterday.

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I must say that I am so incredibly blessed to have 2 wonderful parents that love me, and have always loved me.  They taught me, trained me, spanked me, guided me, and showed me how to live honestly and ethically.  They are kind, caring, and have been wonderful examples of how to live as God wants me to live.

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It’s so comforting to know that I have parents that did pray for me, do pray for me, and will always pray for me.  I want to be a prayerful woman!  I go through spells where I am fervent in prayer, and other times I am not as fervent.  One of my goals this year is to pray every.single.day. for my babies.  A friend of mine has a wonderful prayer plan for 2011, that I am going to try to stick with.  I would encourage you to look at it, too.

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I know that by posting this, I have people that will keep me accountable.  Pray with me.  Let’s pray for our babies!  I’ve had so much fun with this new blog.  Thanks so much for reading about our crazy, wonderful life! :)