2/3 of my olive shoots live elsewhere. At 22, my oldest has graduated from West Point and is doing officer training at Fort Benning
Being the mama of a Soldier means I grasp pride – tightly
And when he sends me pictures of him in a tank, that word grasp (and gasp) take on a whole new meaning
Jesus, hear my cries for his safety and for all those who serve
The other is 18 and a freshman at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago
He desires to be a bi-vocational pastor
This means that I grasp fear because I see how congregants can be so cruel to a pastor, how we in the pews can quickly judge, how those in leadership can go astray, become arrogant or lazy
And when he boards the train
and heads out to Kedzie each Friday
from about 3-7pm
to work with inner city boys,
he journeys to a part of Chicago where guys of his meager melanin level usually go only to score drugs and get high
That’s when that whole grasp thing is magnified for me as a mom too. Father, extend your protective hand to my/our precious child.
Use Nate and Aaron today in their respective lands to do good for your kingdom.
Take their hands through the challenges they will face and the people they will encounter.
Even though they are young men, I know they will allow you and only you to grasp their hands just like I did when they were younger.
And while you’re at it, hold my hand too after all, because I’m their mom.

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