A Brief Reprieve

Over Thanksgiving week, I got to co-lead a team from my previous church: Pathways on a servant project to Tacna, Peru. We were able to help a few families by building a house, pouring a foundation for another house, and general clean-up. We were also able to spend time with the people, which is always my favorite part of a trip like this. Jeremy (pictured above) is a young boy with a lot of pre-mature family responsibility. His father is no longer living, and his mother just recently lost her second husband to death from a strange accident. Jeremy has three younger siblings that he helps care for, so is no longer able to go to school, at his young age of eleven. The stress of adult responsibility is evident on his child-face. He is living adulthood way before his time, at the loss of his childhood. One day, he brought out a deck of cards and was just sitting there, while his little sister was napping. I went over and we ended up playing cards. I taught him a few tricks, and we mostly played “go-fish”, “war”, and “slap-jack”. The smile on his face was priceless. It was a brief reprieve for him, from his normal responsibilities, a bit of childhood allowed to reign for a few moments. As I left towards the end of the week, I said goodbye to Jeremy as he was in a circle with his siblings and a few friends… playing go-fish. It didn’t change his life, but it brought a bit of childhood back to his reality.

None of us can ever choose how or where we enter this world, but we can share a bit of love along the way.

Fathers: Absent or Present?

Today I was standing in the back of the church where I attend and as I looked out at the group of people seated in front of me, I thought about all the fathers out there, and smiled to myself. Then I began to think of all the people I know in that group of people, and beyond, who had absent fathers growing up… in one sense or another: absent physically, emotionally, economically… yet absent, and all that they deal with each day as a result of their father’s absence.

As I stood in front of the kids that I lead on Sunday mornings… it occurred to me how the kids in front of me represented a small cross section of the kids in the world… growing up with or without fathers.

In the past year, more than ever, I have begun to realize the importance of the role of a father in a child’s life. No man is perfect, woman either for that matter… But if we bring children into the world, there comes an opportunity to respond to that child… to love and care for them in the best way we can. My prayer for fathers this year is that they choose to be present with their children, in a way that will allow the children of today to grow up with a foundation of love as opposed to a foundation of fear and pain.

Sweet Google Doodle

 Go Grace Moon! Nice Doodle, even nicer explanation!!

The Lord’s Prayer

So stinkin’ cute… oh my word!

The Red Balloon

 I just found this little movie and watched it tonight. What a beautiful film of love. Three generations sat and watched it together: my two year old nephew, my mother and myself. We were all taken by its simple love story. No wonder it’s a classic: A must see!