A week ago we were basking in the glow from my middle child’s wedding where many of the most significant friends and family gathered who have impacted the mosaic puzzle of my life. Some couldn’t be there because of their own life schedules and some weren’t invited since they are part of my story but not my son’s. Yet here we were that Saturday with this great majority of these people who have not only been a part of the pieces of my life but also a part of my son’s life. I can honestly say it was one of the best days of my life.

I had a friend ask me about it this week, and he said his wedding day was the best day of his life. I can agree that my wedding day (soon to be 30 years ago) was one of my best days, however, there have been so many others in each season of my life. There doesn’t seem to be a way to clearly say there has been one best day.

I’ve had best days based on events like my son’s wedding, which would include the births of each of my three kids, my wedding day, as well as the weddings of some very special people in my life. Yet, many of my best days have been more ordinary, even mundane, like a day I was teaching and suddenly was washed over with a sense of realization that this was exactly where I belonged and I was doing what I was created to do. Then, there have been best days when it was just me and God, in the ocean, on a mountain path, or driving on a trip, me singing at the top of my lungs.

One important aspect about all of my best days is that they have all had to do with relationships, with God, others, and even with myself. The mosaic puzzle of my life is colored most brilliantly on those pieces involving relationships. Those have been the best days.

It seems that the best days only get better the older I become. I believe this is because I’m becoming more and more of my true self, aware of who I am and whose I am, embracing all of my pieces as a part of the whole, cherishing each person who has been a part of my mosaic and some who will always be.

My toast at my son’s reception was intended to focus on all of this, on the relationships throughout the seasons of our lives and how they have shaped each of us, including the impact on my son’s life, either directly or indirectly. We are richly blessed with these relationships and my prayer for my son and his wife is that they would recognize this in their lives, as well, and that they would measure all their successes and failures in light of their relationships – with friends , with family, with strangers, with each other, and with God.

Here’s to all the best days yet to come..🥂 ❣️