Last week I volunteered at the Winter Jam Concert in Tupelo. I ended up working the merchandise table for the fantastic group named Mikeschair, selling t-shirts, CDs, etc. It was pretty busy, and I saw lots of faces and talked to many people. It was a great deal of fun…especially meeting people who were there to listen to music that praises and celebrates the Lord! I really enjoy watching people, and this was a great place to do that. The building was mostly filled with youth groups from various churches, accompanied by their adult leaders. There were also families and singles and couples and people of every age.
Once I looked out and saw a pretty blond lady who was carrying a toddler. He was a sweet boy, but you could tell he was a little underwhelmed by this great musical event. His mama would pick him up and hug him and talk to him. Then she would put him down and let him run around the concession stand. You could see her patiently working to keep him happily occupied as well as safe.
I remembered when mine were that little and how tiring it was for me both physically and mentally, taking them out to places that bored them and trying to keep them content and quiet. When I caught her eye, I commented that I understood how exhausting being a mother is and that I felt for her. She smiled peacefully and said yes, but God had surely surprised and blessed them, and that she is going to be 40 her next birthday and she sure didn't know how much difference her age was going to factor in until she had this youngest baby. I said oh, yes, I have a 5 year old and didn't know how different it was gonna be at my age when we decided to adopt her (39 then), but that we had deliberately done it anyway…laughing at my feeble self, of course. It was very brief but warm, friendly, and encouraging…sharing what we had in common, blessings of young children when our energy levels are draining due to our ages. So she chased her son along as he continued to explore the BancorpSouth Arena.
A while later they came back, and she excitedly told me that both of her sons were adopted, too! She said that it was all God and they never expected to have sons, but He had blessed them unexpectedly. I was happily surprised to find that out, although I should have already noticed that she had that shine about her. You could see joy in her face and the awesome privilege that she felt having sons. She and her husband had been married 14 years and had never been blessed with children. Their diagnosis was "Unexplained Infertility", which sounds like an answer that the World would give, but which translates into "To Glorify God". So they accepted that God must have meant for their children to be the youth that they worked with at church, and put all their energy into them. One day they felt led to become Foster Parents, and immediately they were asked by DHS to take care of a newborn baby boy, just for a "few days". But God meant it to be forever, and they were allowed to adopt him. The story was beautiful and I love to hear people talk about the wonderful things God has done for them. We discussed where we each live and our families and all those getting-to-know-you details. I think their oldest son is around 5, and the youngest 18 months. We talked about the openness of our adoptions and how we have each explained to our kids how special they are. It was such a pleasant conversation with a genuinely nice person.
Very quickly it seemed that the show ended and it was time for us all to go to our homes. Her husband and their youth group joined them and they moved with the crowd toward the door. I was a little disappointed as I wanted to hear more from her, but I called out to her and her boys as they started to flow through the crowd, "Goodbye, I enjoyed meeting you and talking to you. I hope to see you again someday!" She answered "Goodbye, my friend…we will see each other again!" Then I realized she meant Heaven, and I pointed up and said "Oh, yeah! I will see you THERE!!" I got real happy then because I realized that I will get to hear all of her story one day. And just as we stood in the same room in Tupelo talking about the Glory of God, we will be standing together again, singing and shouting and praising Him. Can you imagine that??
I love the way God surprises us with those moments, and how deliberately He does everything. I love Him so much and I feel so honored that He knows who I am and loves me in spite of the screwed up mess that I can be. I hope you know that He loves you as much as He loves me.
