In my box of photos is a picture taken one brilliant fall day 19 years ago when I stayed home with three little children while their parents attended a wedding in Tokyo.
Last Saturday I stayed home in Japan while many of my friends attended the wedding in Virginia of the youngest of those three little children.
19 years ago, she was a preschooler, eager to "do school" like her big brother and sister. I was a teacher, eager to find ways to keep her occupied so that the rest of us could do school. On non-school days we went to the zoo and aquarium together, on church picnics and to the park on Sunday afternoons for "park evangelism".
13 years ago, she was an elementary student, dressed in her finest to play in a piano recital with her sister. In the summer, we picnicked on the shores of Nojiri Lake.
Six years ago, she was recently returned to Japan from a vibrant youth group in the States. We met weekly, sometimes at a park, sometimes at a coffee shop, to read through a book, pray together, and spur one another on to love and good deeds.
Five years ago, she was one of my high-school students. We enjoyed learning together as we conquered the rigorous curriculum.
Three years ago, she was a college student, generously bringing me the best sushi in the Shenandoah Valley, when I drove through.
Today, she is a young bride, and I eagerly await the pictures, but more than that, our next reunion, meeting her groom, and learning what God is continuing to do in her life.
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