My sister has been house sitting for some friends in the mountains, so I haven’t seen her for a while. Her birthday was several weeks back and we didn’t have a chance to celebrate. She came to town today, so we decided to celebrate her. We went to get Mexican food with my sons and their families. We told the waitress it was her birthday, so they came and sang to her and made a big deal. It was quite comical. Then we went over to one son’s house and watched Wicked. They saw it in the theater, but my sister and I had not seen it yet. I had heard and read reviews of the movie, but kept an open mind to decide for myself. It was an interesting twist of the backstory of the wicked witch and the good witch, offering an explanation of why they were who they were. It got me thinking that every one of us is a product of our history – our family, friends, experiences both good and bad, choices we have made. At the same time that doesn’t mean we are victims of our history. We have a choice as to who we want to be as a person and every day we can decide how we want to treat others. I also know from experience that it may not be all that easy. It can be hard to change some bad habits that we are trying to shed. This is where God’s grace comes in. He can help us shape ourselves into the loving people we want to be and who God wants us to be. I am grateful for the loving family I have who show up for one another. I was glad we finally got to celebrate my sister and that she had a good time.

I Found God today celebrating my sister.