I was walking down our long driveway to the mailbox today, when I noticed some unusual tire tracks. They were smaller than car tires, and formed a perfect 360-degree circle. I stopped my other, normal thoughts, and took a second to praise the Lord for the dirt bike tracks in my driveway.
My son is now 14 and in full teenager mode. He loves that dirt bike. It makes him look (and feel, I’m sure) very cool. It’s also therapy after a tough day at school; it seems like a couple of laps around our 1.6 acres can loosen up pretty much any stress for him. It’s loud. But that’s ok with me.
It’s ok in the same way that I don’t mind his hair being pretty far on the long side, or the posters completely covering probably 60% of his bedroom wall space, or the sound of figuring out a new song by trial and error on the too-loud electric guitar, or the way he likes to sleep until noon in the summer. Those were all the kinds of things that were important to me at that age as well.
His teenage things are ok with me, and I even praise God for them. I am one of those women who waited a good long time to become a mom. We had been married 8 years, pursuing parenthood at least 5 of those, when our son was born. He didn’t grow in my womb, but I don’t care. He’s mine all the same. I think he doesn’t care either. We agree that in God’s amazing sovereignty, He can place a baby anywhere He wants. God chose, according to His plan and by His grace, to bring us together as mother and son by way of adoption. It suits me just fine.
I know that I love him the same way a mother loves her biological child, because two and a half years later our daughter was born, from my own personal womb, and the feeling I had the first time I held her was exactly the same as the first time I held my son. It has been the same ever since. I am crazy about them both.
Fourteen years later, I pray I never take them for granted. I want to treasure them every chance I get. My son starts high school in a few weeks; my daughter middle school. Where did the time go? Before we know it we’ll wish we had the old screech of the electric guitar spicing up a summer afternoon, just as it is as I write this. I’m just so thankful there is someone there making the noise.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Unexpected Goodness in an Unlikely Place
Where is the strangest place you have ever met a life-long friend? You never know when just a simple act of kindness can turn around and bless you back for many years to come.
It was lunchtime one day in January of 1998, and my toddler daughter and pre-school son were whooping it up at the local McDonald's Playplace. We were with several other moms and tots on a weekly play-date. Of course, this was before McDonalds served salads and whole pieces of chicken, so we suffered through greasy burgers and "pieces parts" chicken nuggets with our kids. But children love chicken nuggets and french fries, and of course the little toys that come with it. So we moms sacrificed cuisine for the hope of long naps by kids who had played well and eaten enough.
Another mom was there with her two kids as well. No one knew her, but it became clear that she was interested in breaking in to our conversation. We soon learned that her family had moved into their new home on the day of a historic Detroit-area blizzard, her husband was busy with his new job, and she was looking for things to do with her kids during the endless freezing-cold Michigan days. We chatted, exchanged phone numbers, and encouraged her to call if she needed anything. That evening I shocked not only this husband and wife, but myself, by actually calling and inviting them over.
Fast-forward 10+ years, and the Johnson and McGonigal families are still -- despite job transfers that have moved both families around -- the dearest of friends. Mrs. Johnson and I have been key players in each others' spiritual growth; Mr. Johnson and my husband hash through work issues frequently over the phone . . . that is, when they are not talking sports! My son counts their son as a best friend, and the same goes for our daughters.
From their current home over 1,000 miles away, the Johnsons are coming next week to visit, and we can't wait. What began as a drop of friendliness has grown to an ocean of love between two families who are like family to each other.
You just can't possibly know what the Lord might want to use your smile for today. You could completely change the course of someone's life, or just their afternoon. You may just reap the reward of a lasting friendship. I dare you to try it!
It was lunchtime one day in January of 1998, and my toddler daughter and pre-school son were whooping it up at the local McDonald's Playplace. We were with several other moms and tots on a weekly play-date. Of course, this was before McDonalds served salads and whole pieces of chicken, so we suffered through greasy burgers and "pieces parts" chicken nuggets with our kids. But children love chicken nuggets and french fries, and of course the little toys that come with it. So we moms sacrificed cuisine for the hope of long naps by kids who had played well and eaten enough.
Another mom was there with her two kids as well. No one knew her, but it became clear that she was interested in breaking in to our conversation. We soon learned that her family had moved into their new home on the day of a historic Detroit-area blizzard, her husband was busy with his new job, and she was looking for things to do with her kids during the endless freezing-cold Michigan days. We chatted, exchanged phone numbers, and encouraged her to call if she needed anything. That evening I shocked not only this husband and wife, but myself, by actually calling and inviting them over.
Fast-forward 10+ years, and the Johnson and McGonigal families are still -- despite job transfers that have moved both families around -- the dearest of friends. Mrs. Johnson and I have been key players in each others' spiritual growth; Mr. Johnson and my husband hash through work issues frequently over the phone . . . that is, when they are not talking sports! My son counts their son as a best friend, and the same goes for our daughters.
From their current home over 1,000 miles away, the Johnsons are coming next week to visit, and we can't wait. What began as a drop of friendliness has grown to an ocean of love between two families who are like family to each other.
You just can't possibly know what the Lord might want to use your smile for today. You could completely change the course of someone's life, or just their afternoon. You may just reap the reward of a lasting friendship. I dare you to try it!
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