Puzzle Pieces

Today was by far, the most amazing day yet. It began with a crashed computer, broken digital camera and far toooo many other issues to mention. I always know that when the day starts like this, I am in for a huge life lesson and someone is trying to get my attention.
I purposely chose to wear ATA kicker pants and an ATA tshirt (the one that says "obstacles are those pesky little things that you see when you lose sight of your goals"). My personal favorite. I knew I would need to stand tall today.
The girls and I headed to the nearest Kmart to replace the defective camera but had to wait for the manager therefore we decided this would be a good time to walk the strip mall and hand out our CF letter with Casey's photo. This is where the puzzle pieces come into play..At first we got a warm reception and met some great people who LOVED what we were doing. It didn't take long until we stumbled upon the other side of the coin. We went into more than one place where a number of people decided we did not exist and refused to give us more than a passing glance...this was upsetting to the girls but Mr. Jason Morgan used to tell me "don't take it personally, just keep moving". That's just what I did and that is where I found my first puzzle piece. I had just been handed the perfect opportunity to teach my daughters about a world they had never seen. As adults we all know this world exist and that is what I have been fiercely protecting them from since birth. This moment sparked the most amazing conversations. It was today that I realized that my girls follow my lead and mimic my every move. Today I was a Black Belt...and so were my girls! This trip has become so much more important to me than I could have ever imagined. I thought it was all about a very important cause but it seems God has more than one very important cause in mind. As far as tournament points, I won before I ever step one foot in the ring. I will be in Atlanta on Saturday to do my very best to raise money for C.F. and yes I will still be competing for points because I love the rush and love being a part of such an amazing organization, but my greatest joy comes from collecting puzzle pieces along the way...pieces I will pass on to my girls!