The Countdown!

17 days and cooouuunting.

Leslie is holding strong with the pregnancy. She's been on bedrest now for 3 weeks...we are surviving by the grace of God and his work through so many wonderful people around us. As you see on the calendar, we only have about 2 1/2 more weeks before we hit 36...full term pregnancy for twins. We are learning how to live one day at a time (thus the bedtime ritual for Benjamin to cross out another day on the calendar).

Benjamin seems to think that there is more than just babies in Leslies belly. For months now whenever we talk about the babies in mommy's tummy he will say..."Liza, Grace.....and Thomas Train!"

The journey home...

The journey home continued...
It was an incredible trip home last week. A very rich time that I will never forget. The Lord called me in a very unexpected and powerful way to go home and visit my Mom and my Dad (see previous post). I didn't know exactly what to expect in this but after a day of being there I realized that it was about hearing my Dad's story. Over these days and nights we mostly sat by the fireplace and I listened to him tell the stories of his life: his early days as a kid in Quincy, FL; the struggles of growing up in an alcholic home; his dreams of becoming a pilot and his time in the Air Force; his years at Auburn University; his first job as an electrical engineer; how he became a Christian; his marriage to my Mom; his proudest moments as a father; his best friends along the way; all the cars that he owned. Most of the stories in themselves were very ordinary but all together they weaved an incredible narrative of God's guidance and providence. It was amazing to see how God protected and nurtured my Dad long before he came to know and follow him. What might have been seen as an ordianry life became an extravagant artwork of God's grace.

I am left with so much to process after these days with my Dad. I will never be the same. Something really big happened here that I know the Lord will be revealing to me for a long time. This life story of my Dad is now a part of me. There is really something to this business of telling our stories to others. Our souls become deeply connected to oneanother and there is a unique fulfillment in our hearts. It is life giving...in watching my Dad tell these accounts the suffering of cancer and chemotherapy seemed to melt away. He suddenly became energized, charasmatic and funny. It was almost as if we escaped our current place and were temporarily imported into the world of the stories. Rich times for a father and a son.

The Little Boy Inside

Today the Lord called the little boy inside of me to go home and be with his daddy. The voice came through a close covenant friend but the words were from God. Only his words can pierce into those deepest places of my heart. Heaving sobs and tears flowing.

My dad has been in a heated battle with cancer for 6 years now. But in the last year he has been extremely ill. For much of this time I have been the responsible son, stepping up to lead our family and keep us together in the fight. But today I was called to go home...not to fix anyone or anything, but just to be the little boy again. The one who would go visit his daddy at work and play with the paper weights on his desk. The one who made a business suit out of a paper grocery bag just so he could be like dad.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Auburn to be with my Dad and Mom for a few days. It will be a tough trip...probably filled with both sorrow and joy.

More to come on this journey...