When the stars come full circle......

When I was in my second year of college I made a decision to change roommates. It was the best decision I ever made for so many reasons. My new roommate was wonderful, such a beautiful person inside and out. She loved the stars. We had them on the ceiling. When the school year was over she took a few of those glow in the dark stars on a piece of paper and wrote, "The God who named the million stars knows your name and He loves you more than all of them combined. To this day I still have that piece of paper.

Currently we are travelling home from our annual Thanksgiving Exit. Most of you know Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Madelynn came home from the hospital a few days before Thanksgiving after Open Heart Surgery in 2008 and in 2009 was the first time we could take her out of the state. Today we are traveling home from this annual trip. We decided we would explore someplace we had never been so we stopped at Tybee Island, GA.

After dinner even though it was dark, we walked down to the beach. I am not going to lie it was so dark it scared me. You could not see your feet in front of you. The area was so uncommercialized it was a flat out black out. We made our way to the pathway and bridge to cross over the dunes and onto the beach. All the sudden in the darkness I looked up up. The sky was a satin black blanket filled with jewels that sparkled. I had never seen so many stars in the sky. I could have laid in the sand for hours trying to count the stars. Even though the kids and Phil were there it was as if the world had stopped. I could barely hear the ocean and I was standing right in front of it.

During that deafening silence I thought of my old roommate and her wise words. I can't tell you why I was so struck by her note so many years ago. But tonight I lived it in the beautiful darkness. As we are regularly reminded of Madelynn's journey coming full circle and being able to enjoy events at one point we never thought possible, tonight I lived my friends words. I know I am loved more than all of those stars combined. But when you see all of the stars and you are one little speck in this great big world it is a great reminder.

Hoping for some sunrise pictures in the morning.

TTFN~