a few years ago a precious person moved into our little backhouse on calmont avenue-her name was lauren waters. at the time, beckett was a baby and atlee was 2- lauren took such a special interest in our family. atlee would spend hours each week looking out the back windows to see miss lauren walk into our backyard- she would then beg to go for a visit, at first i was a bit hesitant, not wanting lauren to feel obligated to entertain our child- but seeing how excited atlee got, i just couldn't say no. one evening lauren's friend was babysitting atlee and beckett-and the event we were attending went much longer than we expected and "we'll be home @ 10:30" turned into "we won't be home until after midnight". lauren's friend had to leave so laurn offered to fill in- i still remember walking into atlee's room that night when we got home...there was our 2 year old, wide awake (at 12:30am!) and laurn patiently curled up next to her in her bed with a big stack of books- they were reading, talking about God, and having a grand time...lauren wasn't annoyed, weary or bored.
atlee turned three, beckett learned to talk and lauren continued to leave foot prints in our lives and hearts. atlee would disappear for an hour or more at miss lauren's invitation to her place. she would usually come home wearing makeup and taking about a new place on miss lauren's big map that the two of them had been discussing...lauren took time to teach atlee about the world- especially places that need to hear the message of Jesus.
soon miss "warren" (as beckett would call her) fell in love with andy gage. he is wise, genuine, loyal and gentle- a very well suited match for lovely lauren. it was a joy to watch lauren and andy marry and build a life together...and now, the journey they are walking together is leading them to denver. they are part of a team of people planting a church (www.parkchurchdenver.org) in the city...and we will miss them deeply!! just a few weeks ago lauren picked up atlee and took her to a butterfly exhibit at the botanical gardens- i watched them walk the path from our front door to miss laurens car- peace, trust and joy filled me- and then a tinge of sadness, knowing that our days of living in the same place are drawing to a close---and keenly aware of the empty space that will be left.
