Category Archives: Thankfulness

The Reveal

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It was last Memorial Day when we had our first inkling that a new baby was coming. Linnea had flown from Florida to Michigan to attend her sister Birgitta’s wedding open house. And as we ran errands together, she surprised us with her lovely secret – that another baby would be joining us in January.

Fast-forward to summer when the 26 members of our family were together in Michigan. Linnea’s pregnancy had passed its half way mark, and she and Adam had learned the baby’s gender. Much to our happiness, they wanted to share it with us all. 

We planned a Reveal Party after dinner with a special dessert: a cake with either pink or blue frosting in the middle. Only the two parents knew what was inside.

Throughout the day the 12 grandchildren, ages 10 and under, eagerly anticipated the announcement. Boy or girl? Which team?

As the hours went by, the children shared their hopes with each other… boys rooting for blue frosting, girls for pink. And when the moment came, Linnea cut a plump piece of cake and lifted it to reveal — it was pink!

The girls broke into squeals of delight, the boys stood silent, and the adults got a good chuckle over both responses. But pretty quickly the 12 kids shifted from gender-focus to cake-focus. The rest of us, though, were thankful for a glimpse of what God was doing within Linnea, excited to know a little something about who he was creating.

It was God’s idea to establish 9 months as the time it would take for him to make a baby. Of course he could do this intricate work in an instant, but he chooses to take his time. Maybe it’s similar to the way he formed the first human from clay. I wonder how long he took on that project. My guess is…. 9 months.

These days God still takes his time forming babies inside their mothers. I like to think he enjoys the long, complicated process during that time when only he holds the secrets to who he’s working on.

Fast forward to January and the birth of our May Evangeline. At the time of the Reveal Party, we were thrilled to learn one fact about her: that she would be a girl. Now the whole of her has been revealed, and we know all kinds of things–-her name, the circumstances of her birth, what she looks like, and that she’s easy-going. But just think about how much God knows about her.

He sees her life stretched out from beginning to end and knows every emotion she’ll experience, what she’ll look like as an adult, who her friends will be, what interests she’ll have, whether or not she’ll marry or become a mother, and everything else about her.

But though God sees it all, his Reveal Parties of new information will happen  only one day at a time. He has revealed one long-term fact about little May, though — that he hopes she’ll always trust him to take care of the life he’s given her.  

“It was You who created my inward parts. I was made in secret.” (Psalm 139:13,15)

Is that you?

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In August, my 12 grandchildren all came visiting, and for this grandma it was absolutely glorious. Normally these kids are separated by thousands of miles, and there are no words good enough to describe the deep satisfaction I felt when this pint-sized crowd came together.

Burned in my memory is the moment the two groups stood face-to-face for the first time – 6 from the UK, 6 from the USA. (Most were too little to remember a visit 4 years ago, and some hadn’t even been born yet.)

Thankfully, social media has allowed bits of communication between them over the years, but in that first meeting at my house this summer, the 12 of them stood looking at each other – in the flesh at last – and didn’t know what to say. It was a wow-moment I’ll never forget witnessing as they stood looking at each other without a word.

Then Skylar, the oldest at age 10 (on the right), pointed at one of her British cousins. “Are you Evelyn?” 

“Yes!” Evelyn said (on the left). “And you are…. Skylar?”

“Right!”

Laughter followed, along with further introductions, and as the encounter unfolded, I felt I’d been given a gift. The proof of its value was that I had goose-bumps on a hot summer day.

It didn’t take long for these 12 young relatives to link arms and run off together, ready to share in some brand new cousin-fun.

That night, while I was thanking God for these precious grandchildren, he gave me a special thought. One day I will meet Jesus – in the flesh at last – and there just might be some similarities to what I watched happen earlier that day as my grandkids met.

I already know some things about Jesus from Scripture, which is sort of like divine social media. I know him, but the two of us have never met in the flesh. And sometimes I try to imagine what that’ll be like.

The words to a song entitled “I can only imagine” are wondering the same thing:

Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all?

Though I’ve anticipated meeting Jesus my whole life, the only thing I know for sure is that when the moment comes, I’ll have goose-bumps…. no matter what the weather. When I stand in front of him, my guess is there will be a momentous silence like what my grands experienced. After that, our face to face meeting will surely prompt deep joy and maybe even some shared laughter.

And then, just like my 12, Jesus and I may hurry off together, arm-in-arm, ready to share in some brand new brother-sister fun.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Wedding Bells

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Our family has heard so many wedding bells in the last few months that if they were assembled together, we’d have a bell choir. And it would be playing a beautiful song.

From August 2017 to August 2018, there were six weddings in our family, which included one of my sister’s children, two of my brother’s, and three of mine. These happy ceremonies took place in Hawaii, Iowa, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan.

[Right: Nelson and Ann Sophie in Hawaii]

I believe God loves weddings. After all, marriage was his invention when he presided over the very first one with a bride named Eve and a groom named Adam. It was a destination wedding like no other and took place in the Garden of Eden.

As our family weddings took place, we knew the Lord was smiling on each couple as they married. He was also listening carefully to the spoken commitments each bride and groom made to the other on their special day.

[Left: Birgitta, Spencer, and Emerald in Iowa]

Although these six weddings occurred in beautiful destinations from coast-to-coast , the “where” was never as important as the “what.”

These days, when two young people decide to get married rather than just live together, they’re stepping up to one of life’s biggest and most significant commitments. These six couples have promised to love and stand by each other, no matter what happens — which actually follows the example God has set for them. In the Bible he shows us all how to love well.

[Right: Charlie and Larissa in Colorado]

 

The Lord’s love is never based on our performance or our loyalty to him, so he never wobbles in loving us — because that’s who he is. God is love. Throughout Scripture he demonstrates this in a variety of ways.

[Left: Karl and Cecilia in Illinois]

 

As for earthly marriage, God laid out instructions on how to get the most out of a husband-wife relationship. Because he loves marriages, he wants to help them last. That’s why he makes his divine assistance available for the bumps in the road that come to all couples.

[Right: Ben and Amy in Maryland]

My prayer for these six new partnerships is that they’ll readily reach for the Lord as needed. And if they follow the directions he gives, all six will make it to their 50th anniversaries – when we’ll once again get to hear those bells of celebration ring!

“Love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

[Left: Louisa and Justin in Michigan]