Abigail and I

From some inspiration I had from Abigail Adams before, I decided to look into this woman of American history again recently. She knew far better then I how to handle long and seemingly endless periods of separation. At a time when there was no phone or internet and even letters were few and far between, Abigail and John Adams kept up a strong relationship over years of uncertainty during the American Revolution. I'm pretty sure she would laugh out loud at my struggles with adapting to being apart again. I'm working on my second book with Abigail as the subject and am deeply humbled. How could a woman ever be this strong? She spent lots of time stewarding a farm, a while in France and even had to entertain not only as the wife of the vice president but then later as the First Lady. I have been keeping this quote with me in my purse these days. It seems to snap me back into reality when I feel like my life is rough:

"She managed the family farm, coped with food shortages, and raised and educated their children by herself... She hired farm workers, wove cloth, sewed clothes, and made soap. She also concocted herbal medicines from plants in her garden and fended off British soldiers who were invading Boston homes." Barbara A Somerville

See, I told you she would laugh out loud!
It's not that I find my life all that particularly challenging. We have struggles and difficult days just like every other family in God's creation. There are some things we have to learn to adapt to that others don't, but we do it because we have to then move on. Abigail knew that for her husband to be able to help form this new little country he would have to spend some time away from home. For her, even though it had it's challenges, it was worth the sacrifice. It is for us too.
I could reflect on this woman for much longer, but for the time being, if you get the chance, do some reading about Abigail Adams. She is amazing and an inspiration with how she coped under difficult circumstances. After all, not only was she married to a President, she was also the mother to one!