It's time for my Friday link up with A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals.
On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.
Since I'm having so much neck trouble, reading an actual book has been an issue, so I started listening to this memoir, Dinner with Vampires, by Bethany Joy Lenz on Audible. I think I was too caught up in babies, toddlers and Little League games to watch One Tree Hill which Lenz starred in from 2003-2012 so I really knew nothing about her. This book about her experience being part of a religious cult while filming that show was riveting. I was so taken by this story that I finished it in three days. Now I'm going to figure out how to watch One Tree Hill.
2. Elf Buffing Foundation Brush
I've always used a sponge to apply foundation, but my sister recommends this foundation brush and it's great. It's only $6.99.
3. Teddy Swims - Northern Lights
I'm super late to Teddy Swims, but somehow I came across this song last week and I love it so much.
4. Foxy Earrings
These adorable earrings come in silver or gold. I think they're a fun everyday stud and love the texture on them. They're only $36 and there is also a necklace for only $48.
5. Even the Stones Will Cry Out
Well, in the opening weekend for college baseball the view from behind home plate for yours truly was a banger, as the kid's say. Drew's team had a heck of a start, winning all three of their games. Steve and I are determined to travel wherever and whenever we possibly can to watch every minute we can before this ride ends. It's early yet, but the entire team has come a long way since last year and Drew, personally, had one of his best weekends at the plate ever.
That was awesome to experience, for sure. But my favorite thing far and away is to see how my littlest boy has grown in the past year and a half. And I'm not talking about how he has grown that creepy mustache. What the heck is it with the college baseball players and their '70s stache obsession? I have found this is a "pick your battles" situation and one that I will not win especially since superstitions run rampant in baseball and if the 'staches have anything to do with the winning, they're here to stay. *sigh*
In addition to the facial hair, Drew's discipline, work ethic and leadership skills have grown so much since he left home, but the most fascinating thing to witness is to see how his faith and relationship with Jesus has grown. I suppose I find it so fascinating because his dad and I had zero to do with it.
How could it be? ;-)
To see my children thrive when they leave home and don't have the enormous benefit of my deep and unending well of wisdom (this is sarcasm, if you missed it)? Perhaps the word is not so much fascinating as it is humbling. It's also been rather comforting.
Sometimes we hold so tightly to our children that we become anxious about other people coming into their sphere of influence. Whether it's a coach whose um . . . motivational technique(?) we're not real sure about, peers we think might steer them in the wrong direction, teachers and professors whose views are antithetical to our own, bosses who seem shady, or even the opinions of people they watch on Tik Tok, this fear of letting our kids see and hear and learn from the world around them is foolishness. Especially for people of faith who are told "Do not fear" more than any other command in the Bible.
Is the world full of bad influence and lies and danger? Of course it is. But it is also full of good, wise, faithful people and if we insulate our children too much, they will miss the lessons that come from both sides of that coin.
I have often counseled my children that when someone's character or actions seem sketchy, I want them to take notice. I want them to learn. I don't want to rip them out of those situations. Of course, consideration of a child's age and maturity is important, but they can learn as much from people that model the kind of human that they want to be as they can from the kind of people who show them exactly who they do not want to be.
When your kid leaves for college or, as two of mine have, find jobs and lives in new cities and new states (so rude), we find ourselves completely unfamiliar with their communities. Who are these new friends? Where are they from? Who are their parents? How were they raised?
As I thought about how much Drew has grown and about how letting go of all of my boys in the past few years has grown my own faith, a verse from Luke 19 came to me. In this chapter, Jesus is entering Jerusalem on what we know now as Palm Sunday. There is much fanfare and shouting as He comes in on a colt. Verse 37 says that "the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen". When the Pharisees admonish them and tell Jesus to "rebuke [his] disciples" for the scene they are causing, Jesus responds: "I tell you if these were silent, even the stones would cry out."
When our voices are not near and we can't whisper in their ears to remind them of their worth and their purpose? That's when we have to remember. There are stones all around our children. Our Father has put them there. If we're lucky they might be mentors, they might be coaches, they might be a Bible study group or new church or they might be one good and faithful friend.
Or maybe not. Maybe we don't yet see our young adults finding community the way we had hoped. What we can trust and know to be true is that God's power and His presence in our children's lives are actually not all that reliant on our voices or the voices of their new friends and community.
The verse from Luke 19:40 reminds us that if all other voices are silenced, even the stones will cry out. They will remind your child of who he is and whose he is and that assurance might just come from the very air surrounding him as he walks to class or gets on the elevator to go to his office. And in that moment he will hear the truth: "You are loved. Trust in me. Believe in me. I am real. I am here."
I am trusting the stones to speak into my children's lives. It sure does take the pressure off. Also, if I could just get one of those stones to throw a razor my kid's way and cry out, "Shave that thing, Son." that'd be a bonus.
Have a great weekend, Friends.
Disclosure: The View From Behind Home Plate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn small fees by linking to amazon.com. Post might contain other affiliate links as well.
