(Here, I make reference to “The Real Preacher.”)
How eloquently he wrote about the results of his being written to by his many readers. Those were his words as he notified us of his short sabbatical.
He said “On Saturday I saw my enemy. I named him and gained power over him. He was close enough for me to count coup. He is always with me. The enemy is not the aging of my children. Their growth is a good thing and will bring new joys along the way. I am the enemy. Sometimes I don't know what I have until it becomes what I had.”
That is where we parents reside; in the past, appreciating hindsight for its honest and truthful revelations.
Our children grow so quickly they leave us in their dust, our vision obscured and blurred by their progress. I’ve often wondered if that is why we are driven so to take all the pictures we can; while we can?
Our youngest child is 28-years-old now. How I cherished the countless hours I’ve spent since she matured and left home in recounting the by-gone years. What treasures she left with us.
This Easter weekend was a wonderful one for us too. We didn’t go hiking as The Preacher did with his daughters. We gathered together in our home with our daughter and her roommate to enjoy the Easter Feast and one another’s company.
While we waited for the meal to be put on the table, our daughter, her roommate and I went to my computer room so she could catch-up on some of the writings I had posted in my on-line journal. I especially wanted her to read the words I wrote recently that I titled “When God Whispers.” She read aloud while Sue and I listened. Yes! I had written the words she was reading. They had been inspired by God’s Spirit and they were a blessing to me at the time of their composition. But now, with Kellie reading those same words, they sounded so fresh and new. I will admit; I wept openly as I listened.
Then, when the sister-in-law, Gail announced “Okay!” and it was time to eat, I asked Kellie to say the blessing over the meal. I was so moved by her prayer, I actually marveled over it. This child of ours, the fruit of our loins, spoke with such mature eloquence and wisdom, who would not have been impressed had they heard her pray?
I have so much to be thankful for but words fall short of expressing the joy I now know as I watch and listen to this child God gave us to raise. There was so many times I felt inadequate and inept as a parent. Many times I felt as if I had let God down in my responsibilities as guardian of this charge He had given over to our care. I’m so glad I was able to trust Him to help me over the rough spots.
He got more involved when she turned nineteen and she has matured quickly in her spiritual development under His guidance.
She will always be our little girl but I also know that now, she is His disciple and that He and we are well pleased in her.
As with The Preacher, I too am having visions of the future, not the past. I know what I had and I know what I have. I am content.