| Romans 8:28 – “…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” |
Yesterday, our youngest son turned 25. My wife remembers how much each of our sons weighed at birth. Those things stick with you. Mothers, at least. My memory of his day of birth? As Jackson was about to poke his head out, the pizza delivery guy came in the room to collect and hand me my dinner. Mary Linda felt something, the nurse gave the “all hands on deck” call, they ushered the pizza guy out, I bit into the first slice and things were happening. I have teased Jackson that his first word was “PIZZA!”
I was 43 when he was born. My father’s mother was 48 when she became a grandmother for the first time. When my dad was 43, he had fought in two wars, had 4 sons, and was just 6 years from retiring from the military after 30 years of active duty. My wife was a grandmother for the first time at 57.
One thing I have come to see? We are all on different timetables. Some are asked to become adults much sooner than others because of life circumstances that thrust responsibility on us at young ages. We just celebrated June 6, 1944, when young soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. That will mature you quickly, if you survived. Most 18 year old men have not had to do that.
Some lose parents at a young age. I have an acquaintance who lost both parents in a car accident while he watched from the trailing car. One thing God does is weave tragedy into something good, something that serves His purposes, that being the saving of our souls. Father in heaven, thank You for weaving the messes of this world into a tapestry of salvation, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
