This picture is of my cousin Nicole (she's a set of legs to the left!) and her family in Montana. This is one of my favourite pictures ever and I can't wait to put it on one of the walls of our new house when we move in. I was thinking of Nicole last Sunday when we were at church; we had a guest pastor who had recently returned from a mission trip in Northern Quebec with a group of trouble native teens. Nicole is native and recently received her Indian name: Pte Waca Mani Wea, meaning Sacred Buffalo Walking Woman. When the pastor was discussing some of the challenges that he was up against and some of the issues that these teens were dealing with, it instantly brought me back fifteen years or so to when Nicole and I were kids. When we were younger, we spent quite a bit of time together growing up but, due to circumstances and the effects of time, we grew quite far apart and in many ways, became like strangers held together solely by our shared childhood.

In recent years though, through the magic of technology, we have managed to reconnect and start to get to know one another again. Even in the brief encounters that I've had with Nicole prior to this, I can tell you that she is an absolutely phenomenal woman and someone that I admire a great deal. Nicole has a story unlike any that I've ever heard and her incredible courage to take the path away from pain is beyond inspiring. I won't go into much detail because a.) I don't even know much about it myself and b.) because it's really her story to tell. What I do know though is that someone else could have easily made a different choice...they could have given up and turned their back on the potential that they had.

When the pastor was discussing his time up North, it made me wonder if God chose Nicole because he knew that she was strong enough to handle it and would, ultimately, make the right decision?? As the faith filled woman that she is, I wondered if during her more trying times, she knew that God was with her and had this plan?? Either way, I found comfort in knowing that the adorable girl I knew as a child had, despite her challenges and turmoil, become this incredible mother, wife and woman of God. She is an amazing example of a life fully lived and transformed (and she's beautiful to boot!!).

While it saddens me that we lost so much time together, I have to believe that like our relationship with God, sometimes we need to move away from it before we can find each other again. And when you do find one another again, the time and connection that you now have more than makes up for the time gone by when you weren't even looking. And for those bleak moments when the clouds seem to block out the light of life, I always know that there is this wonderful Sacred Buffalo Walking Woman in Montana with a story to share and inspiration to heal.

The heavens would be proud.

Photos courtesy of Sammy Oxendalh Photography