Hidden In Our Hearts

There are some moments that take years of waiting to arrive. I'm not talking about wedding days or graduation ceremonies; and not the monuments of first steps or your first home. These moments are far simpler and more of a home-baked bread variety. When that spark of reading lights up within your child, or they look up at the sky and express the same marvel you have, or you stand by as they experience the pride of placing a meal made from scratch upon the table. You probably have your own list, those are just a few that thrill this particular heart.

A special one of mine is reading The Hiding Place. This is my fourth excavation of this treasure, but I have waited for years to be able to enter into it with my girls. The first time I read it was in high school with my sister, Lana. The second time was to my boys, a bit over ten years ago. The third time was on my own, in my room, away from everything and everyone else. And now I am getting to share Corrie, and Father, and Betsie, and Pickwick, and Eusie, and all of them, with my girls. I've always identified Lan and I with Betsie and Corrie, respectively, which lends a tender sweetness to the book. I have been brought to tears on this occasion of visiting the story within more than any other, I am sure. All good and right and as it should be.

I have delighted in taking the girls through a mental tour of the Beje and all its endearing oddities, introducing them to the the Tantes and the individual ways that familial love and challenges stretch them, one and all. When we read the news that Father had died, they mourned with Corrie as well. In one of my favorite chapters, The Lieutenant, I felt my girls in the small hut with the Ten Boom "children," extending their joy, their sorrow, their very inheritance, and most especially their prayers to include the searching man who had brought them all together for a stolen moment.

Tonight, A and L raced to get their showers done so that we could read one more chapter before bed. We are flying through and almost done! I smiled in delight as they ran up the stairs, hurrying. I love this. I hope they miss the Ten Booms as much as I do when the last page is read and the book is placed back upon the shelf, but that it remains alive in their hearts and memories as well - like all the best books do.

Because I Said So

They say parenting is one of those things that doesn't come with an instruction manual. While this is true, what we do come to this monumental task with is the example our own parents were to us. Speaking personally, there were a great number of things that both my husband and I appreciated and respected about our parents - especially the older we grew - and greatly desired to emulate in our own roles as the Mama and the Papa.

Our parents ingrained within us certain values - that of hard work, respect for your elders, looking out for those less fortunate than yourself, looking the other person in the eye when you're talking, hold high standards but leave room for flexibility, and a sense of humor is gold. Concerning our own worth we knew we were special to someone, we could make a difference, we were capable, we had gifts and talents and weaknesses, and throughout all of that we were deeply loved. We have always desired to impart these practices and understandings to our own children.

Ultimately, however, we take the examples we were given and venture out beyond them, making our own mistakes and stretching ourselves in ways unfamiliar. Today's sermon was on Amos 8 and as Pastor Giorgio led us into a delving of its depths, a familiar parental refrain rang in my mind. "Because I said so." My parents were the kind who would respond to our countless questions and queries of "Why?" with this ambiguous and enigmatic sentence. I have not been. I come from a later generation who believe deeply in investing the time to explain so that our children might fully understand the reasons behind why we do what we do and expect them to as well. Perhaps latent frustration remains from childhood years of running into that stonewall sentence, serving to fuel the compulsion to give an explanation to our children's every, "how come?"

The funny thing is, the longer I am a parent, the more I see the practicality of, "Because I said so." This is not to say that I believe in abandoning the years of unfolding and diagramming with our kids. In order that our children might grasp that there is consideration and thoughtfulness behind our directions and orders, it is a gift we give both to them and ourselves. But after a time, enough of a foundation is laid so that we can begin to expect more of them. The trust we have sought to establish within our relationship is tested. "Because I said so," is an invitation for them to do the thinking through on their own now. Will they obey in response to all we have striven to show them? Will they respond to our faith in them with a reciprocal faith in us? Will they simply trust and obey?

With today's sermon (which I invite you to listen to) a further validity has been added. There is a God who offers numerous elucidations as to why He expects us to live as He calls us to, countless re-visitations to the blackboard of illustration for our consideration, diverse and sundry occasions for us to grapple with and own our responsibilities and opportunities. When we pause and pull away with our children to gently chronicle the whys and wherefores of wise decision making, we are modeling His grace - which He lovingly bestows upon us all. But when we are brief and offer only a clear-cut choice of obedience or not, we are modeling who He also is to us, the God of justice. And it is no less loving for us to make certain our children have practice in this realization as well.

Sometimes... Weekends Are For Cooking And Cooking And Cooking

How do you wind up with a freezer full of Shiny Happy Sticky Hoison Pork Chops, Creole Roast, Bourbon Beef Tenderloin, Beef Bone Broth, Grilled Beef Heart Kabobs, Rump Roast Au Jus, Barbecue Pot Roast, Eye of Round Roast, Navy Beans with Smoked Ham, Grilled Chicken Breasts, London Broils, and Strip Skirt Steak, Eight lbs of Browned Up Ground Beef, Five dozen frozen muffins, a Blueberry Pie, a Peach Cobbler, Lemony Thai Shrimp, Spaghetti Sauce for your upcoming potluck, and your first attempt at a Pressure-Cooked Roast within a matter of 2 days? One of your children leaves the freezer open overnight.

We still have Beef Liver, Chicken Fried Steak, more smoked ham to use, some fruit smoothies and maybe some more muffins to bake up if we are not to lose the rest of the food. I and my girls are exhausted and about ready to cry "Uncle!"

My husband, although initially very upset over this, wound up considering this quite a boon and grew increasingly excited over all the cooking going on. Anyone else married to a man like this? ;D The house was filled to overflowing with the savory smells of a dozen meals at once.

While this was an unexpected and exhausting use of our weekend, no doubt we will appreciate it in the weeks to come - especially as we begin the school year. I think my honey and I are going to get away for a pre-birthday (mine!) weekend and the kids are grateful for all we have left them with.

And we give thanks.