Friday, June 11, 2010

Son Walking

There is a folder in my heart labeled "Matt." And there's one labeled "Brad." And there's one labeled "Meghann." For those of you who don't know, those are my children ... Matt is the oldest, Brad is the middle child, and Meghann is the baby of the family. Becca (my daughter-in-law) is in a wedding here in Kansas City tomorrow, so she and Matt are in town for the weekend. Matt dropped Becca off at the rehearsal this evening and then came to my house around 6:00. He mowed my yard, and then he and I went for a walk ... with three wiener dogs in tow.

We walked for about 45 minutes, and Matt (who is generally not a big talker) talked the entire time we walked. He and Becca just returned from a two-week trip to China with a group of professors from the university where Matt is working on his Ph.D. in family and marriage therapy, so he talked quite a bit about their trip. He talked about my health and told me how great I look now ... again, for those of you who don't know, I've lost more than 80 pounds. He talked about the Big 12 basketball controversy, his dreams for the future, and reminisced about some funny experiences from his youth.

Nothing heavy, nothing life-changing, nothing earth-shattering in our conversation, and yet it was an incredibly sweet time with my son ... one that will definitely go into the "Matt" folder. As we walked and I listened to Matt, my heart was filled with unspeakable love for this young man, my firstborn son ... the little boy who tried to teach our wiener dog Choo Choo to swim in the toilet is now a man, a husband, a caring and loving gentleman who will, I'm certain, do big things in his lifetime to help others.

As we rounded the corner to walk into my driveway, I found myself thinking about my relationship with God's Son ... about the way He loves me, cares for me and protects me. About the sacrifice He made for me on the cross. About His limitless and boundless forgiveness and grace. 

So, tonight I went son walking ... with Matt and with Jesus. And I wouldn't trade those 45 minutes for all the wealth in the world.

1 comment:

allie :^) said...

i love these stuff of life posts, cuz that's exactly what they are. no surprise you had a memorable, marvelous experience out on our beloved trails! :) all of your kiddos are amazing. i'm glad you got to spend some time with your all grown up son. those are truly times to cherish. :)