I wrote a book for our daughter Aspen, when she was first born. I even got it printed for her. I wanted a little story for her to read one day about how her mommy and daddy met, fell in love, and started a little family.

Enjoy.

Mommy and Daddy fell in Love with the sea beside them and the sun above.

In a white dress, mommy walked down the aisle. Daddy proclaimed I do, and made everyone smile.

Hand in hand we set off to see the world. We biked and sailed and hiked and flew and danced and even twirled.

With life of adventure and chaos and fun, we still felt like we were missing someone.

“Who were we missing and where could she be. We searched Mexico, Honduras and even Belize.”

So off we went, with packed suitcases. To search for her in far off places.

Greece. Capri. Istanbul and Rome.

But we didn’t find out until we got home.

 

 

Could it be true?

Are we daddy and mommy?

Sure enough, there you were, right in moms tummy!!!

You were in our hearts and prayers all along.

And soon in our arms, right where you belong.

We waited and waited, When

will she get here??

Then one magical night you suddenly appeared.

You were tiny and perfect, as beautiful as could be. Our hearts were bursting, we have our family!

In the past few months Nathan and I have thought back to when we were young, in love and unscathed. The whole world available to us. We were adventurous, hard working and untethered. In the time between our wedding and the birth of Aspen, we traveled to 10 different countries. We visited New York to see Lady Gaga, Smoked Hooka in Dubai, drank Turkish coffee in Istanbul, smoked… ummm, ate cheese in Amsterdam, I got my scuba certification in Honduras, the world was at our fingertips.

We are both extroverts and never seemed to have trouble making friends. Once we were engaged we moved 1500km North to an isolated oil and gas town in Northern Alberta. How romantic. I encourage any newly engaged or married couple to get out of dodge and establish life as a new couple in a new place. We loved it! We made some of our closest friends to date. We got married, bought our first home, advanced our careers, and had our first two daughters while we lived in Fort McMurray.

If that city sounds familiar it is because it was all over the news when wildfires ravaged it on May 3, 2016. All One Hundred Thousand residence fled for their lives, including Nathan, Aspen and a 6 month pregnant me! You may remember seeing scenes of people driving through the city with balls of fire flying over the hoods of cars. It looked like the pit of hell. Everyone was safe, despite the chaos and fear. People seemed to be looking out for one another, being sure no one was left behind, had enough fuel, could get to their kids schools etc.

People often ask if we were there for the fire. I have told the same uninteresting story over and over again. We didn’t lose our home, but quite a few of our dear friends did. Some just a stone’s throw away from our house. Nathan and I had time to walk through our home, room by room, gathering things that we would want spared from the fire. I had a few journals, our bibles, passports, laptop, Aspens handmade items given as gifts, and a painting made by a family friend. That was it! Everything else was replaceable.

When you have the rare opportunity to go through all of your belongings and ask yourself, do I really need this?! You realize very quickly how things are just things. As long as our family and our friends were safe, we were good to go! So we loaded up the few personal items we gathered and hit the road. (Only to be stopped immediately and craaaaawled towards the highway with flames in the rearview mirror). We stayed the night in a tire shop North of town, then made the long drive South to Edmonton early the next morning. It was chaos! The city was in ruins. Abandoned vehicles (including city buses and semis) on the sides of the highway. All the beautiful Aspen trees we named our daughter after were burnt to a crisp. The city that was so good to us was burnt and abandoned.

 

 

In our short 5 years of marriage we have endured a lot. We watched both our sisters journey through a divorce, suffered 3 miscarriages, escaped 1 wildfire and now enduring 1 major loss of our sweet Eden. Who would have thought normal people like us would be chosen to run such a hard race. Recently I’ve looked at the few young engaged couples I know and wondered what is in store for them. So young and optimistic and hopeful. As we all were. What do I wish for these couples? An easy and happy life? I certainly don’t wish experiencing loss on the scale we have. But I never will be quoted saying something like, “I just want you to be happy.”

No one grows without challenge. You won’t make a difference in this world, or inspire others or gain profound wisdom on smooth straightforward path. So instead of wishing someone “all the best” or “You deserve to be happy” or “I want only good things for you” although well intended, I just feel like the proper things to say would go something like this:

Real life is going to happen (and happen big time), regardless of discernment and wisdom in the choices you make. It is up to you to respond correctly to both the good and the devastating event. Times where your heart could just bust with love and happiness and times where your heart is shattered into a million pieces, God is present in both of them, equally. The good and the bad. Terrible things can come of seemingly good experiences (just look at lotto winners) and beautiful things can come of seemingly awful moments. My hope is that your response to life’s ‘goods and bads’ brings you closer to God, softens your heart and that through your journey you (by the grace of God) arrive at unwavering peace and joy.

I will follow.

When the sea is calm and all is right
When I feel Your favor flood my life
Even in the good, I’ll follow You
Even in the good, I’ll follow You

When the boat is tossed upon the waves
When I wonder if You’ll keep me safe
Even in the storms, I’ll follow You
Even in the storms, I’ll follow You

I believe everything that You say You are
I believe that I have seen Your unchanging heart
In the good things and in the hardest part
I believe and I will follow You
I believe and I will follow You

When I see the wicked prospering
When I feel I have no voice to sing
Even in the want, I’ll follow You
Even in the want, I’ll follow You

Jon Guerra