Blogville, CO, USA, World

I stumbled into Blogville. Actually my friend, Rachel, threw me in, aka she set up Noah's blog for me because I was on the phone constantly at the hospital, so she called me one day and said she had set up a blog for me to update as a central place for communication for family and friends.

I didn't really know what a blog was...I had only seen one and it belonged to a friend of Jason's from a previous job who had relocated overseas, so he and his wife would post pictures and give quick blurbs about their adventures in the South Seas. I didn't live in the South Seas so didn't see how my life was anything but ordinary...

Jason set up a blog for me when Emily was a toddler. It's lost somewhere in Blogville. I don't remember the name of it or which email we had used to set it up in the first place. I don't even know if it has a post on it. It probably just says, "Test". He tried to explain it to me but, to be honest, I was tired and could not imagine taking time to post pictures of Em for our family to see. I know, I'm a slacker...

What never occurred to me when I started writing Noah's blog was the world of stories that would be opened to me...for my eyes and heart to see into the life of a stranger...glimpses of people I had never met that would somehow become friends, at least in my heart.

I remember being blown away when strangers, friends of friends and even long lost friends, started popping up on Noah's blog, sharing their love and encouragement, or not sharing anything at all because their hearts were too broken for us to even know what to say. It was mind boggling to conceive that strangers could have a love for us like that. And yet, I didn't think it strange at all if I traveled into Blogville and encountered stories that ripped my heart wide open and had me praying, crying, commenting or shooting emails off to total strangers.

The word "stranger" took on a whole new meaning.

I mean, these people were sharing their stories, candidly, crying out, not for attention, but for someone to listen and to say, "Me, too!" Not that any of them that I know of sought for someone else to actually share their tragedy of heartache or loss or the uncertainty of medical unknowns as a commonality, but simply people saying, "Hey, I have a story."

Truth be told, we all have a story. Each of us has a story that needs telling. How it is told will look different for all of us. Some will have audiences upon their knees or across booths over great food or coffee. Others, captivated teenagers will hang on every word at a summer camp. Some will write their stories on paper and others will type it on blogs. Others will share their stories quietly as they live by example. No matter how we share our stories, God has created each of us unique. We have all experienced many things during our lives, no matter the length, and in sharing our stories, we undoubtedly encourage another along the road.

In sharing our stories we move from being "strangers" to being friends and family. We move from being alone to being part of a bigger picture...not one that we draw or design ourselves, but one that is beautifully created by God, who is way more artistic than any of us.

I guess what I am trying to say is, thank you...

Thank you for letting me into your stories and thank you for being part of ours. Thank you for the overwhelming response of encouragement, enthusiasm and support about my belly. Whether you read or not, this blog has been such a great outlet for me, as I know your blogs are for you, and I will be getting my guts out on here during this leg of the journey. Believe, I've had some thoughts!

Thank you for Blogville, CO, USA, World...a great network of beauty where we can each candidly share our stories...the real, the raw and the in between.

Thank you for moving in my life from stranger to friend...