JESSICA'S 25th BIRTHDAY...GOD'S TIMING!

A quarter of a century! Saying it that way makes it sound old and I am sure that is how Jessica feels. Living with pain for most of her life, she grew up fast. Yet, when asked how she is doing, she'll usually respond, "Oh, I'm okay, I just have a migraine!"

Yesterday we hung some 99% room darkening curtains over her room darkening blinds. That will give Jessica the best opportunity in her new bedroom to really sleep in each morning until her body clock wakes her up. For her birthday, she wanted to go in to Philadelphia for her first look at the Liberty Bell and while we were there - "could we eat Mexican?". With Jessica, everything is about timing, sometimes she'll have a few good hours in a day where she can do something.

It's 23 minutes from our house to the Liberty Bell. We drove past the Liberty Bell headed for our first choice of the Mexican food places we had researched...the GPS had a hard and long time getting us to where we needed to be. Then,

• Mexican rest. #1: closed for renovation
• Mexican rest. #2: outside did not look appetizing, so we drove on
• Mexican rest. #3: Steve dropped Jessica and I off and 15 minutes later he joined us after finding parking.

You'll have to ask them how it was.

Then, walking to the car, retrieving it from the parking garage, driving to Independence Mall only to find the street in front of the Bourse closed for construction. You get the picture...by the time we parked the car and began our walk to the bell, Jessica's migraine level was about a pain level 9. She remained a trooper...walking to the outside of the window and looking at the bell from there...her inside visit will have to be left for another day...our timing was not quite right...

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A FRIEND FROM THE PAST:
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Jessica had a heroine when she was in early elementary school. We moved to another state, but when Jessica got into middle school she did her "Heroes" project on this lady. This sister in Christ, was smart, strong, independent, loving, kind, and loved horses. Did I say she loved horses? Did I say that she was our next door neighbor? I wrote about Sheri Swaim in a post on this blog on July 26. I had not been in contact with Sheri for years so on July 29, I found an email at a church where I thought she attended. This is what I wrote:

Denny and Sheri formerly of Culbertson, Nebraska? Do they worship/work with you? This is Patti Sikes who now lives with Steve in Pitman, NJ. See: www.cochrist.org

I just wrote about Sheri on my blog last Saturday: http://momstransformed.blogspot.com

Contact me at:
Patti Sikes
transformedminds@comcast.net

I'm guessing that Sheri never received that email because today, on Jessica's birthday, I get a long email from Sheri that goes in part like this:

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Hi Patti!!

Oh boy, am I excited to have found you on the web - and to see just a small part of your ministry these days (at this point, I'm really hoping you are the right Patti Sikes!...So much has happened over the years - and I see from scanning through the Sikes blogspot so much has changed (grown!) in your family! I can't believe the kids! I only saw a pic of Caleb (the groom) and read briefly about Jessica....

Did she know I had been thinking about her? Did she know that Steve's parents had often wondered what had happened to Sheri and Denny? I responded today to Sheri's email in part with this:

Well, Sheri Swaim!

God works in mysterious ways! He has put you on my heart this summer. I googled you, got an email contact for you and read your article in WINESKINS. I not only wrote about you in a blog post on July 26 but I then emailed you...I wondered why I never heard back from you...But, GOD has more connections than email...thanks for listening to His Spirit and contacting me.

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GOD's timing is often unpredictable but always amazing.

• Thank you, GOD for Your timing in giving Jessica this connection to her past as she turned 25 today. That's about the age Sheri was when they lived next door to us. Who do you live next door to? What kind of impressions are you making?
• Thank You, GOD for Jessica being able to have a smile through her pain. Please, LORD, allow the timing to come quickly that there will be a complete end to Jessica's headaches.

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HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES OF JESSICA OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS...IN PAIN? ALWAYS!...SHOWING IT? NOT ALWAYS!