HOMECOMING - better late than never

I have been overwhelmed with how far behind I am on the meaningful thoughts and experiences that I would want to write about...ironic isn't it...that my last blog was about writing! It has been just over a month since Baylor's Homecoming weekend and our last win on the gridiron. The weekend was filled with the normal activities from the late night Pep Rally and Bonfire on Friday night to the nation's longest collegiate Parade on Saturday morning to the Football Game on Saturday afternoon. All of these activities are very familiar to me. I have been to them for at least 30 years. But, I guess it never really hit me since I have always lived close and now work at Baylor; but this was the year that I truly learned the meaning of the word HOMECOMING. Technically it means "the arrival of someone who has been away." Generally it is a gathering of alums at a designated time to come back to campus to revisit the nostalgia of years gone by.

As most of you know, my friend and the first-ever Spirit Coordinator for Baylor University, Elizabeth Williams moved with her husband to Alabama. Her last week with us was spent just as the first four years were...with students from the spirit program. At her going away party they gave her a plane ticket to return "home" for Homecoming. I picked her up from the airport and the weekend that was literally a whirlwind of activity. However we did share some special times throughout the weekend. I won't go into the "B--U" cheers at the Bonfire or the Chamber Police at the Parade or the tears of joy on the football field. I will tell you that Elizabeth and I grilled out on Saturday night at the cabin with two of our favorite students: Bailey (in picture above) and Erin. It was so fun to catch up and to share from the heart about where each of our lives had gone in the last six months. I am thankful that the bond we have cannot be severed because it is in the Lord who "is the same yesterday, today and forever." Friendships that weather the test of time and distance are also those that are forged in the mountains and valleys of life experiences. The four of us have been together all over the United States...New York to Seattle to Arizona to Indiana. We have witnessed the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." We have also prayed together and laughed together, cried together and we still do not agree that an apple has caffeine! Life together was certainly sweet while it lasted. Life changes but we will share these memories forever. This Thanksgiving weekend, I am truly grateful for the gift of friendship - with these iron sisters and now I truly know the depth of the meaning of HOMECOMING. Thank you Elizabeth for making the sacrifice to come and hang with us. On this earth, the only thing more precious than the air you breathe is the hand you hold...I am grateful for the chance to hold hands with Women of God like these. I am blessed.