The Children Grow Up

Today Michelle and Andrew sang a duet in church.  "Lord, I Need You" is a contemporary Christian song based on the old hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" (I wonder if Michelle and Andrew know that).  Their voices soared in harmony and their sincerity increased the song's impact on all of us.  But the quality of their "performance" astounded me.  "I didn't know they were that good!!" I thought as I listened to the blend, the tone, the pitch, and their musicality.

This sort of thing keeps happening to us as the children grow up.  Whether Michelle chatters away in Spanish on the phone to her friends in Mexico, or David informs us of chemical formulas and properties of elements, or Joel snags a rocketing softball and completes the throw to first base, and Sarah grabs his throw to get the runner out, I can't believe it.  When Daniel (or Sarah!) (or Philip!!) hits a home run, I'm in awe.  When Andrew lifts heavy weights, I gape.  How can these little whippersnappers accomplish feats that I've never dreamed of?

As our children spread their wings, they prove themselves capable of entering new spheres, reaching new people, and achieving success in new fields.  Our family isn't limited to following in Mom's or Dad's footsteps.  This is a good thing.  Apparently the author Hodding Carter Jr. is the source of the quote:  "There are two lasting bequests we can give our children; one is roots, the other wings."  The roots we trust we've given our children are faith in the Lord and in His Word, security and stability in our family, an ability to overlook offenses and to forgive, and numerous good values and morals.  We see their wings spreading now with all sorts of variety and emphases.  Praise be to God for His many gifts!

All Things Work Together

On Wednesday as I was running the till for the 4-H Foodstand at the County Fair, I started to run out of $1 bills.  I sent up a quick little prayer - "Lord, send me some ones."   My next customer, Jodi B (the local head of 4-H), handed me eight ones to pay for her meal.  Prompted by the Holy Spirit (maybe?), I told her, "I prayed for ones because I'm running out."  She laughed and replied, "And I was saying, 'Please let me have enough to pay for this whole meal!'"  The Lord uses everything in an intertwined fashion.

Last night one of our children made a little speech telling us that our advice had been followed in a certain area.  (Usually I'm quite specific but this involves others so I won't mention any details.)  I cried happy tears, because I've felt discouraged recently - first, that the kids aren't listening to the Lord and second, that they aren't listening to their dad.  So God answered both those fears in a single incident, plus granted that child a great experience in trusting Him.

Romans 8:28 assures us that "all things work together for those who love God and are called according to his purpose."  I saw the truth of that this week.

30-Hour Famine

I'm lacking energy right now, because we are in the middle of a 30-Hour Famine. Joel, Sarah & Andrew are joining the youth group, fasting from 10 this morning until 4 tomorrow afternoon, to raise awareness and funds for hunger relief. Daniel's going to do it another day because he had his first baseball game today. I'm also fasting in solidarity, primarily because the youth group is leading worship tomorrow morning, hungry, and I thought I should be too. Well, so far I'm not really hungry, but I'm definitely lethargic. And a little cranky.

Andrew was impressed by the video he saw at the church kick-off breakfast this morning. He kept talking about the African children and how thin and hungry they were, and every time he felt hungry he thought of them. Lord, may we also remember how much You gave up for us as we give up food for a short time. And if anyone reading this blog wants to contribute to feeding hungry children, just comment below and I'll make sure you can.