Originally posted on Facebook October 8, 2017
As my friend Monica puts it…isn’t it cool to get those “God Winks” every now and then to confirm we are on the right path. Well just a day or two after I posted my blog about Bailee’s upcoming marriage and the variety of emotions it has brought into my life God gave me a big ole wink. Even before He put this amazingly, ironic memory on me that gave me more confirmation about the path He has Bailee on, He used friends who read my blog to encourage and support me. My incredibly busy, stressful homecoming week was made bearable just by all of your words and support. Then He put the icing on the cake with this little nugget as Bailee would call it!
Right now I have a lab student from AUM who is an education major coming to observe me a day or two out of the week. They are required observation hours she has to complete for a course she is taking. She was discussing with me an upcoming project she has due for another class and asked me if I happen to have the children’s book Flat Stanley. I couldn’t even comprehend or answer her question when she asked me this because a flood of memories came rolling back to that were filled with irony, confirmation and joy!! You see…when Bailee was in the third grade she had one the most amazing teachers I know named Melanie Smith.
Melanie read the book Flat Stanley to her third graders that year and then assigned them a project. Flat Stanley is about a boy who was flattened by a bulletin board that was hanging over his bed. He woke up one morning realizing he now was only a half inch thick. Due to his basically two dimensional state he was able to do some amazing things. He was able to be rolled up and mailed places. He was even flown as a kite. The assignment Mrs. Smith gave to her third graders that year was to make a Flat Stanley and send him on an adventure. Bailee had to turn in pictures of all the places Flat Stanley visited and write about his adventures. Well there was no doubt in Bailee’s mind where her Flat Stanley was going to go. Our neighbors, Monica and Dennis were living overseas at the time and Bailee wanted her Flat Stanley to go visit them. Of course they were completely on board with having Stanley come visit them.
When Stanley arrived to Monica and Dennis they really showed him an amazing time. They took him all kinds of places, showed him all kinds of history and introduced him to a culture he had never experienced. Monica just happened to be coming back to the states around the time the project was due so Stanley flew back to Bama with her and she personally delivered him to the school along with a treat from the foreign land for each of Bailee’s classmates. So I guess at this point you are wondering where did Flat Stanley visit and what does it have to do with Bailee? Well…Monica and Dennis were living in Vicenza, Italy while Dennis did Civil Service work for the army post there. Vicenza is where Josh is stationed and the army post Dennis served is Josh’s post. Bailee will be following the path her Flat Stanley went on after all these years when she moves to Vicenza after her marriage to Josh.
To many this may not relate, but to me it brings a smile to my face and just another ounce of peace to my heart. God has amazing ways of showing His love and His plan….even through a character of a children’s book. If you think this was an odd coincidence think again. This is just answer to prayer….prayer for confirmation that we are not mistaken in our discernment about the decisions being made and that Bailee is following God’s plan for her life.
Thank you God for your perfect plan and your beautiful “winks”!
Philippians 1:9-10
Words of Heart 