By Lynna Clark

David’s been gone for a little over a month now. Our daughter Stephanie shared this with me the other day. I thought it was so good. Here. I’ll let her tell it.

“I remember when I was little, we would go to the beach and play in the ocean. The rule was that we could not go out past our waist unless Daddy was in the water with us. When Daddy got in the ocean we could go out deeper, and being the oldest, I got to go out farther than my sisters. I remember my toes barely touching the sand at the bottom, watching the waves roll in from the deep. The waves looked so big and scary! Daddy told me, “Don’t run from the waves. They will crash right on you and pound you into the bottom. Instead go towards them. Face them head on and you’ll float right over.” To a ten-year-old, that sounded like good survival advice, but to my fully-grown-self, it sounds like a life lesson. Face it. Don’t run from it. Lean in, rise above, and enjoy the ride.”

Throughout her life, Stephanie has leaned into a lot of adventure. Probably the scariest is being a pastor’s wife. This past weekend, she graduated from college again with her Masters in counseling. We are so proud of her, and especially of her desire to help others who are struggling. She knows stuff! So thank you Steph! As I enter this new season in my life, I’m not sure I can do it. It’s very scary. I’ll do my best to lean in, rise above and maybe even enjoy a bit of the ride.

Anybody got a floaty?