Today I celebrate the the 17th birthday of my sister Abigail, and the 2nd birthday of my friends Joni and George's twin babies, Journey and Eden. In the midst of the celebration these lives, I remember with gratefulness the life of a person very dear to my heart, Melinda. Today is her 42nd birthday, and although we mourn that she is not here with us to celebrate, we rejoice that she is home with the Father, that her faith is now her sight, that we will one day all be together where sadness and separation will be no more.

Melinda and her husband David are missionaries in the Dominican Republic. They are the parents of seven beautiful kids (Cooper, Jacob, Grayson, Sarah Joy, Tyler, Eli, and Naomi Rose), the five youngest pictured below, as their two eldest sons are living in the US and Guatemala. When I graduated high school in 2010, they were living in Guatemala. They quickly became like my family and I spent much of my time with them. They helped me acclimate to life there, and they really took me in as their own. Their eldest daughter Grace became like my sister and Melinda became like my Guatemalan mom. They had become a part of my family and always would be. Just weeks ago, Melinda became ill and passed away. I am forever grateful for the privilege of knowing her and her love for life and for the Lord. Although I don't understand why she left us so soon, and although I will have so many questions until I reach home, I know that He holds each one of us in His hands, and I can only see a very small part of the picture He's painting. Today I am grateful for Melinda's life, and I'm grateful that in the end, we will all be reunited again.