Category Archives: Thankfulness

Small Beginnings

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If we oldsters in the autumn of our years could bottle some of the youthful energy surrounding us here in Florida, we’d all have the pep of 18-year-olds after draining the bottle. When our seven enthusiastic young children are at the pool together, other resort guests pick up and leave.

The oldest two, Mary’s twin granddaughters, are the leaders of the pack at nine years old. Witnessing their limitless energy in the water, you’d never know they survived a very rocky start in life.

Hannah and Erika were born almost nine weeks premature weighing 3.12 and 3.5 pounds respectively. When I visited them at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) the week they were born, I wondered if they would make it at all. Their tiny bodies bristled with tubes and wires, hooked up to the best that medical machinery could offer.

When Hannah contracted meningitis and Erika evidenced heart trouble, anxiety ran high. But day-on-day, they gained weight and strength, leaving the hospital a month later.

Their young mommy, my niece Julia, did a stellar job nursing them, no small feat for two tiny babies who needed frequent feedings. She was grateful for each day’s progress and never complained about her daunting task. Today she’s every bit as thankful for their presence in her family as she was the day they were born.

Julia and her husband Drew had a jump on the rest of us in terms of viewing their children as God’s creative handiwork. Our babies came at full term without crises, and we took that blessing for granted. But the twins (and their younger brother Andrew) are so appreciated, their parents take advantage of every opportunity to turn their attention toward the God who made them.

Hannah and Erika were taken on their first mission trip at six years old. Including them on a journey to Ecuador was a risk, but the girls’ world view is shaping up to be full of tenderness toward the poor, partly because of that trip. In preparation for serving with their parents and other families, the girls were told of children who lived with their parents in a dump, scavenging food others had discarded.

After returning home, the twins prayed for the people they’d met. One evening after Julia had dished up dinner, Erika took her untouched plate of food to the trash and began scraping her food into the garbage. “What are you doing?” Julia said.

“I’m sending my food to the children who live at the dump,” Erika said. Although the Ecuadorian families would never receive that offering of love, God did and was extremely pleased with her sacrifice.

Linking that incident with the twins’ early days in the NICU, none of us can doubt God had eternal work for these two fragile preemies to accomplish. And they’ve already begun.

God actually has important work for every life to accomplish, and that includes even those born too prematurely to “make it” on this earth.

It also includes all who’ve had their lives snuffed out before they even have a chance to be born.

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Traveling Alone

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Taking a road trip shakes up our routines, and every once in a while that’s good. I think part of the reason I’m happy staying home is that efficient packing demands organizational abilities I don’t have. This skill-set is one of many I miss in not having Nate as my traveling partner, but traveling alone is my new normal.

Years ago, I had all I could do to pack for the kids and myself, and Nate usually lightened my load by packing his own bag, a job he did in five minutes. He was a champion at remembering to take everything he needed, including work assignments, legal documents and phone numbers. I never heard him say, “Oh-oh. I forgot something.” I said it so many times he got used to saying, “We’ll just have to buy another one when we get there.”

Something else I loved about Nate as my travel partner was his willingness to chat. No subject was off limits, and as the miles accumulated, we solved problems and made plans. He was also good at map-reading, but if we did get lost, he wasn’t above stopping to ask for driving directions. (No GPS’s back then.)

Another perk of traveling with Nate was his willingness to do all the driving. I could enjoy the beauty of farms and small towns, always fascinating. Being in the passenger seat also let me catch up on reading, knitting, note-writing or putting photos into albums. It amounted to a chunk of sit-down time that was hard to come by at home.

On recent road trips including my current one, I’ve been the one behind the wheel. As an antidote to missing Nate’s companionship (and packing, conversation and driving), I’ve tried to count my trip-blessings and have discovered a few perks in having to travel alone. I can have prayer times “out loud” without interruptions or embarrassment. I can skip traditional meal stops and be munching every hour. I can listen to music, sermons or silence, my choice. I can stop only when I need a break rather than any more or any less.

And although Nate isn’t seated next to me, my buddy Jack rides in the back seat, a warm body to talk to now and then. I’ve also had a strong sense of God’s travel partnership, taking him at his word when he says “I’m never going to leave you.” Though invisible, he’s always on hand, surrounding me with reassurance and providing the confidence to keep moving forward.

Of course I wish Nate was with me, too, but that option isn’t available. So the best choice is to receive what I’ve been given and not ask for more: a week with family members in Florida, a loyal canine friend who’s tagging along, the Lord’s faithful companionship and… a unique chance to race against the numbers on a GPS.

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

 

Travel Time, Part II

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After entering an automatic car wash with a car carrier strapped atop our van, the kids and I didn’t understand Nate’s stunned expression when he saw us come out. “What happened to the carrier?” he said, alarm in his voice.

When I looked up and saw it was gone, I knew where it had to be. All of us looked back into the car wash and sure enough. There it was, in two mangled pieces, completely empty. Its contents were scattered on the car wash floor, including the contents of several suitcases that had torn open. Wet carpet strips gently dripped suds over the whole mess like salad dressing over lettuce.

Since I was unable to put a sentence together, Nate spoke first. Passing up a choice opportunity to accuse the guilty, he said, “It’s as much my fault as yours. I should have stopped you from doing it in the first place but wasn’t thinking.”

 And it was my turn to be stunned.

Whether Nate knew it or not, he had modeled God’s love that day. He stood in front of me and took the blame for something that was clearly my fault, which translated to, “I love you anyway.”

When he refused to blame me, I instantly escaped everything that usually accompanies being blamed: judgmental words, embarrassment, a lecture. Although I deserved those things, because of his kind response, it all went away.

This wasn’t the first irresponsible act I’d committed, nor the last. All of us repeatedly goof up now and then, and when we do, we should willingly take the blame. Every mess is somebody’s fault.

God is the only one who’s never made a mess, goofed up or acted irresponsibly. He is never to blame… well… except for once. It happened when Jesus hung on the cross in anguish, voluntarily taking the blame for all our sins.

On that dreadful day he paid the price for every wrong deed we’ve ever done, every wrong thought we’ve ever had. Though we ought never to blame Divine Perfection for the messes we make, Jesus Christ accepted blame for them all. And what we hear him say through this incredible sacrifice is, “I love you anyway.”

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At a car wash half way between Illinois and Florida, we gathered up our soaked belongings and loaded them into the van, which put us back to square one on over-packing. Nate asked permission of the gas station manager to leave our trashed car carrier next to his dumpster, and we were on our way.

Although there were material losses that day, there was one phenomenal gain for the kids and I: an unforgettable demonstration of godly love.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” (Romans 5:8,20)