At the beginning of this week, we were able to fit three adults in the back seat of our car. (Now, it was not the most comfortable fit as we discovered this past fall when our friends came up from Texas and five of us traveled to the UP together.) At the end of this week, there was only room for two people in our back seat—and it was a pretty crowded fit at that.
There was this thing in the middle of the back seat. This is not the first time one has been there, but the first time one was specifically bought to be put there and kept there. This thing taking up space in our back seat is the base of an infant carrier. This is not the first time a grandchild has had a car seat in our back seat, but it is the first time to have one permanently in our car since this grandchild lives in the same town with us.
The amazing event this week didn’t make us grandparents; that happened six and a half years ago. But the event once again brought joy and amazement to our lives. It also made us think back to the infants we brought home around three decades ago! It made us think back to the journey as a family. It’s been a journey filled with some difficult aspects and some great aspects, but none greater than welcoming a new soul into our family, be it a child or grandchild.
Our personal journey has taken us to all four time zones in the lower 48 states. Two different countries. Both sides of the continental divide, east-west, and north-south. Warm climates, cold climates, and the most perfect one here in Michigan that has the wonderfully spaced four seasons. It has been quite a journey. We have spiritual family all over the country now, many of whom we were able to witness their second birth in the waters of baptism.
On this journey, we’ve experienced a lot of changes; however, there is one thing that has not changed. The constant through all of it is our desire for God to be at the center of this journey. The constant on this journey is PRAYER: Prayers for our kids from the time they were young and fragile; as they became teens venturing out from the secure base we had tried to build for them; prayers for the ones they would marry who would become their partners in serving God and our new son and daughter; and now prayers for all our children to be the parents that will help those four wonderful grandchildren know of God’s love as they raise them to be warriors in the Kingdom of God. Prayer was and is a constant.
I know we aren’t the only ones to take the time to pray for our kids or the special children in our lives. Whether you pray for your own child, a grandchild, a niece, a nephew, or another child you have fallen in love with simply because your paths crossed on this journey-know that you are doing one of the greatest things you could do for that child. Prayer can alter the course of a child’s life.
So, when you get into a car this week and journey from one place to another, notice the back seat. Think about how many will fit there. Then say a prayer for the children in your life that they may know who God is and follow Him with their whole hearts.
Happy with my back seat,
Randy
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