Have you ever stood during a baptism…you know, when the Pastor asks us if we are willing to assist in the bringing up of this child? I have….countless times…and I never thought that much about it, truthfully! Sometimes I remember being a bit squeamish and thinking…"Do I really mean this?" I don't even know you for crying out loud! But as a church, as a body of believers we make that commitment to help and assist the parents in the raising of that precious babe in a gown of white…sometimes smocked sometimes not…either way, we commit to help those parents….
But did we ever stop and picture that beautiful baby all grown…or worse, almost grown? Let's say…about age 16, 17, 18 maybe 19 or 20?
Recently our lives have been inundated with families going through real struggles, (some of them are our very close friends)…I'm talking life altering struggles that to them seem like will be for a lifetime but in reality are only for the moment. I know that quite well…because I was one of those children that had to endure being punished for underage drinking….I remember all too well those feelings of abandonment, embarrassment, loneliness, anger, helplessness, you name it! It was all there! I was one of the first and I'm not proud of it, trust me! But if it will help just one person, one child, one parent, anyone…I'm not afraid to admit it! And because of Miller's sweet friend going through this I was FORCED to admit this to Miller for the first time just last night…and it was hard, I'm not ashamed to tell you. I didn't want to tell him that and I especially didn't want Sarah to hear it but I knew it was time! I probably should've told him 3 or 4 years ago. I didn't…but what I learned from all of this is what ultimately brought me to a saving relationship with Christ way back when…that's why I knew it was important to tell him now and I also knew it was ok…he's a "big boy"! He can handle it! And Christ handled it along time ago when He ultimately paid the price for my sins on the cross…
But, today….TODAY…I also witnessed a miracle of love… a love for others no matter their sins, no matter their age, no matter the consequences…I witnessed first and foremost my child's heart melting to reach out to someone else. It's funny to me how guys can act so tough and act like nothing is really a big deal when in reality it's a HUGE deal!
To think that I almost told my child, "Don't worry about coming to church since you have to be somewhere at noon. We actually gave him that "out" and yet he still wanted to come to church.
Now, I know why! GOD wanted him there! As we peered into the balcony, there stood his precious friend from high school….someone that he truly loves and thinks the world of and yet, since Miller has gone to Auburn I doubt they've had much contact. Knowing that his friend has recently been expelled, Miller nudged me and made sure that I saw his sweet friend standing alone in the balcony…and the next thing we saw truly took my breath away…
The door to the right opened and out came Coach Bobby Kerley…I think Miller and I stood there with our mouths wide open…we saw the two people that Miller loves dearly shake hands… and then end up in such a big hug that I watched as Miller shook it off…tried not to cry…he couldn't look at me because huge, crocodile sized tears were streaming down my face…it was the sweetest sight I've ever seen. It was a teacher, their basketball Coach that they both respect immensely, coming to a student that he's known for most of this student's life and embracing him and telling him how much he loved him…all from a hand shake and huge hug!
Next thing I know, another student comes to that same pew and shakes the hand of the student that had been expelled…and another…it kept happening…it was glorious! It was love in action! I looked at Miller and said, " Do you want to go up there?" Miller was gone…next thing I saw was this dear student literally leaping up to run out in the hall to hug Miller and talk to him. I haven't gotten to hear all of the details of their conversation….but I can tell you this, I haven't ever been as glad as I was today that we went to church and that my Miller sat right there beside me and together we got to see Christ's love in action…from a Coach, from some friends, and ultimately from Christ Himself!
Let's all commit to serving Him first and helping each other raise these precious children that God entrusted to us!
Let's all commit to serving Him first and helping each other raise these precious children that God entrusted to us!
God is good!
All the time!
