Saturday morning Sharon and I made a trip to the landfill to get rid of some "stuff." It's amazing how quickly things begin to accumulate that no longer have a useful purpose. Pleasant memories alone aren't reason enough to continue to hold on to something.
Of all the things we pitched Saturday morning, the item that was the hardest to throw out was our Eureka four-man tent. It was a gift to us from our small group some 30 plus years ago. We have many pleasant memories of camping in the Adirondacks as a family and with our small group. The tent had surpassed it's useful life expectancy, but I was still holding on to it because of it's sentimental value.
But on this Saturday morning, into the landfill it went! We have decided to hold onto the memories but pitch the stuff of life that is no longer useful.
I share this as background to help you understand what came next. From the landfill we traveled south to the College Community campus to watch Prairie take on Wash in a high school baseball game. Matt Thede is the head coach of the Prairie Hawks.
As we sat in the shade on Saturday afternoon watching the game, memories of similar summer days came flooding back. All four of our sons played baseball and we spent many hours on ball fields around the state. Many Mother's Days were celebrated in the stands watching our boys play a game they loved.
But today we traveled to the south side of Cedar Rapids for another reason. We were there to support Matt, not one of our sons. We understand the important role that a coach can play in the life of a young man. We pray for Matt, asking God to use him to shape young boys into men. Today we came to Prairie to support Matt and to cheer on his team.
And as we sat watching the game played by teenage boys that we don't personally know, Sharon sent off the following email to all four of our sons:
It's a perfect summer day for watching a baseball game and dad and I are at the Prairie/Wash game (in support of Matt Thede, Prairie's head coach). I can't help but reflect how much fun (well, not ALWAYS fun) and the sweet memories of coming to/watching all you boys throughout your years in baseball! In the midst of the craziness of the seasons I always wanted to be one of you biggest fans.Those days are long gone (not the memories), however I still seek to be one of your greatest fans in life, encouraging you to live for the Glory of God, trusting Him as you live out His purposes in your life!! I love you - Ryan, Jason, Josh & Jon.Our children have grown from boys into men. Three of our sons are now married and the other is engaged. We are learning to treasure the past, live fully in the present, and to move forward with expectation into the future.
"Play ball!"
We are still our boys biggest fans! We still cheer for them and root for their success. And we're still trusting God with them and praying for their future.
The past, like our boys baseball playing days, are long gone. The future, full of hope and expectation, is yet to come. But today, someone is waiting for you to just show up, to cheer them on, to be their biggest fan!
5 comments:
Beautifully written, Kim, and beautiful thoughts. You and Sharon are blazing a trail for many of us "empty nesters" who are way behind you. Thank you for sharing.
Hey dad, I love what you wrote. I have lots of great memories from my childhood. I appreciate all your support and encouragement as Erin & I trust the Lord for our future.
A beautiful blog Kim. And give my Kudos to Sharon for the beautiful email she sent to her "boys" who are now "men".
Thanks Laura, Jason and Buddy for your comments!
Awesome thoughts Kim. One of the most important things we can do in life is to pray for our children. We teach them the best that we know how as they are growing up, but even when they have left the nest we can still pray for them. They may or may not understand that they are still our children, but we must let them go to draw on what we have taught them and take responsibility for how they use that knowledge. We no longer can instruct them on what to do (ok - we can, but they might not listen), but we can still pray for them and their families. As they bring grandchildren into our lives, it just gives us more to add to our prayer life. We pray for those precious kids (we have 2 with another 2 on the way) and just pray God's blessing over them. May God Bless you and Sharon as you continue in your prayer life for your family. God bless!
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