When Christmastime rolled around, all of Nate’s and my children were under my Michigan roof… except one. Hans and his British family were far away in England where they live, and we missed them dearly. With four thousand miles and an ocean between us, bridging the gap this year wasn’t possible.
My encouragement through the holidays was to know there was an empty seat on a plane to Great Britain waiting for me on January 17. Nicholas, age 3, and twins Evelyn and Thomas, 21 months, were looking for their Grandma MeeMee, and I was anxious to get reacquainted, since it’d been nearly a year since we’d been together.
Leaving Michigan on Tuesday and arriving in Manchester, England on Wednesday, I was concerned about the fatigue of jet lag, but that turned out to be wasted worry. This time there didn’t seem to be any, an astonishing surprise. (Thank you, Lord.)
Nicholas remembered his American grandma well, and the twins (who didn’t) had learned to walk and talk during our separation, all of which facilitated better communication.
Most delightful was listening to toddler British accents: “Oh dear!” was “Oh dee-ah!” and “No more” was “Nay moh.” Despite Hans’ strong American pronunciation, the 3 children speak distinctly British.
Katy has done a great job keeping American traditions alive with celebrations of the 4th of July and Thanksgiving, and I arrived to hand-made stars-and-stripes bunting strung in their living room. She’s also teaching them to enjoy Twizzlers, peanut butter and Nerds, distinctly American flavors, and they all visit the US as often as possible.
Sometimes when I’m in the States and they’re in England, it’s distressing to ponder the great distance between us, and it’s then I zero in on 4 things:
- Nate and I agreed we’d always let our kids manage their own adult lives, following their God-given dreams as thoroughly as possible without our objections, even if their choices weren’t ours.
- God leads in sometimes puzzling and surprising ways. He sees the long view of each life and puts the circumstances together accordingly.
- Watching my children lead satisfying, productive lives wherever they’re located is parentally pleasing.
- One day we’ll all live in the same town, the dwelling place of God, never to be separated again.
Katy and Hans are a perfect example of all 4 of these. They probably wouldn’t have met, except that God brought them from the UK and the US to New Zealand, where their participation in Youth With A Mission brought them together (God’s puzzling and surprising way).
Now, with a family, home, church and career, (satisfying, productive lives), they’ve followed their dreams (making their own choices) and also followed Jesus Christ (to his eventual eternal dwelling place).
And all of this brings delight to me, pleasure that negates even the inconvenience of a 4000-mile-wide ocean.
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13)