May 21

The Youth Pastor at church gave the sermon this morning. He was talking about seasons of life and how they so often change from good to not-as-good, sweet to downright stinky (my terminology there), but more importantly about how it's all temporary. Then, kind of out of nowhere, he said he was about to embarrass one of his students. And that student happened to be Abby.

He called Abby awesome a few times and noted that she'd played Mary in the Nativity play last year, and that she'd been part of a skit that some members of the Youth Group performed during the service a few months back. Then he explained that he'd told her he'd hold up a sign for her in the back of the room during the play to offer her some in-the-moment encouragement, but she asked him not to so he didn't. But then, of course, after all was said and done she asked why he hadn't done it despite her protestations. So today, he finally held up that sign for everyone to see. (In case you can't quite make out the wording, I'll help: it says 'ABBY WIGHT IS MY HERO.')

Now I'll be clear on one point: I have no idea why it says what it does. She didn't really know when I asked, and he didn't go into details, but my heart made a connection of its own: at age 12, Abby has already suffered through an excruciating season of life. Despite that loss, she's retained her sense of humor, her intellect, her dedication to family and friends, and her ability to love. I don't know if he had any of that in mind --and I think perhaps he did, since he too has had to weather the storm of losing a brother way too soon-- but it's what came to mind for me.

So yeah. I guess she's kind of my hero, too. And for the strength that I see every day in that little heroine of mine, I'm so very thankful.