As a school teacher, I am still enjoying a good Christmas break as of right now. I have had a very refreshing last couple of weeks (or fortnight, if you like). Going into this Christmas season, my mind was filled with apprehensions concerning our discovery that our family is growing. (Larry Fine once said that apprehension means you're worried, but with a college education...Food for thought.) This baby took us by surprise, and part of my reaction was to consider whether or not any career changes might be necessary in order for me to take care of my family. In times like these when the pressure is on, our training takes over. My wife and I brought our questions to the Lord and began to listen for His guidance. Answers come slowly sometimes, though. From there, our family Christmas festivities kicked off with some very uncharacteristic, very public, very poor behavior from one of my children. This may sound silly, but the incident caused me to question my parenting. My wife and I dealt with the situation, and we both prayed about it quite a bit.
Soon after, we joined my parents for a few days of rest and time together. On the first night there, Daddy and I were outside loading some things into our vehicles when he turned to me and reassured me about my parenting and reminded me that things like what my son had done happen, and when they do we deal with them and move on. His words were few and they were exactly what I needed. During a hard time of soul searching, for a young parent to hear his father tell him to stay the course is powerful. Sunday morning, our last day there, I also got to play a song at church with Daddy, and all I can say is that it was awesome. And, he preached a sermon that I needed to hear and has eased my mind about my seeking God's guidance for myself and my family.
We drove home that day and have had a nice time just being home together. I even got some work done around the house. I took my boys to town to get some wood to finish a shelf that I've been working on for longer than I care to mention. My one year-old fell asleep on the way, so I carried him in. I found the right piece and tucked it under my free arm and headed to check-out. My three year-old (the same child mentioned in the second paragraph of this story) walked behind and "carried" the back end of the wood. As we walked he said to me: "We're working mans". I smiled and said "Yessir, we are".