Simple Gifts

It’s a day of intermittent rain, sleet, and quiet moments of grey.  But indoors, the luscious scent of roast beef slowly baking in the oven permeates the air.  The craziness of taking three big trips during November and being gone for thirteen days out of thirty-one means we have internet left at the end of the month.  Tada! The loveliness of streaming Christmas music on Pandora.  The leftover autumn candles are burning without discretion.  And for once in her life, baby girl opted to nap in the afternoon instead of in the morning which made school a little trickier, but this afternoon gloriously free!

Some days are so brim full of the most delightful little gifts!

This morning the boys and I prayed for safety for the families who were bringing their kids back to camp through the icy rain.  We also prayed especially for a boy who opted to take matters into his own hands … that God would keep him safe and that satan’s power would be bound so that he would not make any decisions with life-long ramifications.

Some days when we are in the middle of a loud, happy holiday I think about the moms of our boys who are going through a hard time in life.

On days like today when there is messiness around all the corners of the house, dishes break, and we’re all still trying to get back into the rhythm of home, I think about how much beautiful we have going on.  There’s a story behind every boy at camp, just as there is a story behind every person in the world.  If there is anything I’ve learned since being here, it’s that you can’t predict kids outcomes.  For every child who struggles with life because of certain circumstances, there is another child who thrived in a similar place. And for every child who thrives, there is another child whose spirit crumbles and who desperately needs someone to walk alongside them minute by minute to show them the way.

We’re never going to be able to parent perfectly or guarantee outcomes.

Love. Structure. Support system. Prayer.  They’re all wonderful, oh so necessary things.  But they aren’t guarantees.  Because life is life, not an insulated bubble, and kids get to make choices.

In the end, it all boils down to the most amazing gift.

Grace.

Today at noon, the boys’ eyes widened as they realized both their prayers had already been answered.  The ice had not only stopped, the collection on the deck had melted.  David had called me to say the boy we were most concerned about had been found.  We held hands and prayed again in thanksgiving, but it was the eyes of my soul that grew wide the most.  Those hands reaching out to hold mine, those hearts turned toward God, those sweet spirits that emerge when the wrestling gets shut down …. those things aren’t because of what we’ve done as parents.  Those are the grace of God bringing so many beautiful gifts into the life of our family.

Today I’m praying again for the Mama warriors out there who are investing so much love, so many prayers, so much time …. and who wish with all their hearts to see these simple gifts.

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