A Much needed Promise

“And the God of All grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while. Will himself RESTORE you and make you STRONG, FIRM, and STEADFAST.” 1Peter 5:10

I am so grateful for such a promise on this particularly low morning. With the fall approaching I cannot help but to think about how I usually love this season of the year. I have such happy memories from high school homecomings and football seasons. Our home and all of its elaborate decorations and the intoxicating smells that overflow from the kitchen, I think about Thanksgiving and how much my dad loved these feast and gatherings. He loved having all of t his little children under his roof once again. I hadn’t given much thought to my birthday this year, and still don’t want to. I know I am being dramatic but I almost don’t want to have a birthday, or a Thanksgiving, or a Christmas where the giant stockings my mom made are there, but he is not. My birthday is September 1, the opening day of dove season. I was reading this morning in Psalm 46 and tucked away in my old bible were a couple of e-mails that he had written me. I printed them off and put them there because I read them often. This is one he sent me the week before my birthday last year.

Hi There Young Lady:

Glad to hear you guys got back safely. Hope you are getting ready for
SCHOOL along with all of your sorority duties. It was nice to meet Paul. He seems like a fine young man and I look forward to getting to know him better. I just want you both to take your time in developing whatever this relationship is going to be. Time is one of the few things young people have in abundance. It is also something they seem to waste in the hurry of life and getting where they think they want to go. Be patient grasshopper,
and keep me posted.
My surgery currently looks to be scheduled on September 2. Bummer, as I had
planned on surprising you with my presence on the opening day of Dove season
for the first time ever. I don't know what Mom will do with her trip
planned for the first. I just know that I won't get to be there. For what
its worth, Scott and Todd won't get to have me with them on the first
either. I guess it will balance out. What I do not want is for everyone to
mess up their schedules trying to be with me for my surgery, or during the
weekend following for that matter. I want each of you doing the things you
need to be doing in your lives, not just mine. Be patient with Mom and love
her. She really needs everyone's support right now. I know you all will.

I've got to get gone, headed home you know. I'll get back to you soon.

Love You Bunches,
Dad

Paul and I ended up being friends for those of you who don’t know him or me… He has been a great support and source of encouragement to me over the last year and is a wonderful brother in the community of believers that the Lord has placed me in. Anyways I love this e-mail because it is so typical of my daddy to not want everyone to come home and worry over him, and more so to neglect our school studies. And here we go; a new school year is about to commence. I am a little scared but our Faithful Father will be there with me every step of the way, just as he always has been. What a hard time of year marked with wonderful memories and painful realizations of my new life physically separated from him for this short time that sometimes feels endless.
I went to Hale Center with my brothers over this last weekend and I believe it did my grandmother well to see us. Sometimes when she is talking to us she will just start crying. I know what she sees… she sees her son. I cannot imagine. I wore my hair curly and she just touched it and sobbed. No one else in my family has curly hair except my dad. It was emotionally pretty hard but so is life I am finding out… Please continue to pray for her. My brothers mean so much to me, the way they love me and take care of me. It felt good to fellowship with them. They will start studying for the CPA exam here in the next week or so. PRAY PRAY PRAY! They need to be diligent and to pass! They are brilliant and so precious and I know they can do it and with the Lord I know they will!
God is good and he sustains us. Mom and me will be joining Hallie and her mom, Bobbie in Florida on Wednesday for a final little summer vacation. I am extremely excited. I have a final that morning at ten (feel free to pray for that as well) and then off to the airport I go. I love you all and am humbled by the grace and new mercies that the Lord gives me extra portions of I am certain, and your many prayers. Thank you for being such wonderful hands and feet of our Savior. Blessings….