| James 1:27 – “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” |
Someday in my future, before my time here is done, I may be living alone. I also may spend a lot of time waiting for someone to come and visit me. I probably won’t be driving anymore, so I will do a lot of sitting and thinking. I would imagine that my memories will be precious to me, and I will swipe through them in my mind.
What will I think about? Well, maybe the time I gave my pocket knife to our middle son to look at in church. He was sitting in my lap. It would occupy him for a few minutes. All went well for a while. He opened the big blade. All was good, but then I watched him put his thumb across the sharp side of the blade and his other fingers on the safe side as he bent it closed. I couldn’t react fast enough, and I saw a red puddle come quick on his thumb. I put pressure on it and carried him out in my arms, pocket knife in hand. I was awarded “Dad of the Year” by my wife for that one.
Some are fonder. Christmas with our boys when they were young. When I was young, we never waited for Mom and Dad to wake up, we just went in the living room, dumped stockings, checked the gifts under the tree out. Our boys were so patient. They waited for us to wake up. Several years we had the bulky video camera on with the VHS tape format. One of our boys (no names as I don’t want to embarrass anyone) got a toothbrush in his stocking. He commented “Another toothbrush?” in a disgusting tone. If there was a time machine, I wouldn’t go back and buy Apple stock, or bet on a baseball game, or save Lincoln or Kennedy. I would go back to that Christmas morning and be a young dad for a morning all over again.
I have another memory of our youngest son going to play at a friend’s house up the street. Trey Heaton. His father, Bill Heaton Jr, called us. Our thought was “What trouble are they having with him? Bill: “Just want you to know. Trey was going to play video games with Jackson, and he told us he is on restriction and can’t play video games right now for disobeying.” Bill wanted us to know he had done right. When the Bible says that Mary treasured up these things (that Jesus did) in her heart, I think of this.
I have a drawing our oldest son Grant gave me when he was maybe 3 or 4. It was a big stick figure and a little stick figure. He and I. Written was “Yur my body.” He meant buddy. My wife said “Both are true, as he is skinny like you.”
We went to Six Flags Holiday In The Park when our boys were young. My parents, my three brothers and the wives and kids. We ate at Cheddars across the street afterwards. Our middle son Benjamin wasn’t eating his food. Me: “What’s wrong?” He: “We haven’t prayed.” I made a big point at home to them about waiting to start eating until we had said a prayer of thanks to God. Now, I had to practice this outside of our home. I asked the family, “Can we say a prayer?” Our son was teaching me something.
I remember our wedding day. Seeing my wife in her dress for the first time as she came down the aisle. Taking her hand from her father. Putting a ring on her finger. I remember cutting the umbilical cord of our youngest son, and having to lay down a piece of pizza I was working on to free my hands for the task.
They say “the first child swallows a penny and you rush to the emergency room. The second child swallows a penny and you wait for it to pass. The third child swallows a penny and you deduct it from his allowance.” My dad once said to my mother (she repeated it to me) “My favorite time was when the boys were young.” Something precious about the times when they grab your hand when you are walking with them, or they want to sit in your lap in church or while watching TV.
Father in heaven, thank You for memories to keep us company when we are lonely, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
