A Son Now Grown, Big
Colonel Redeemed has now officially graduated from high school. The transcript is complete, and the diploma sits in its file ready for printing; I need black ink. Having already graduated one child, I expected the stress level to be less. What I did not expect, however, was the huge sigh of relief that would escape at the close of Colonel Redeemed's high school season. Whoooosh! out it came, this pent up air of I-don't-know-what-all. I had absolutely no idea that I would be so glad to be finished with my oldest son's high school career.
Not only are we finished, but successfully so. What a relief! Somehow, somewhere, completely by the grace of God, in the midst of all of the craziness that homeschooling and ranching produce, my son received a quality education. In fact, not only did he complete high school, he probably completed college level work in some courses. This son, he's the one who began high school at home with the craziness of a baby brother a few days old. Six weeks later, the same baby brother was across the state, his parents were with him, in a hospital for several days. Not exactly a good start for setting up a school routine.
Routine? Did the following four years ever contain a predictable routine? Probably not. They were full though. Full of learning, full of experiencing, full of observing, full of doing, full of developing into a young man of God. Full. Whole. Conversations at the meal table filled with history provided more depth and insight than a dozens of lectures ever could have. Hands soiled with grease and oil repaired machinery then put the same machinery to good use working as mechanical facts became more than a class in school. Cattle were fed, cared for, and calved bringing biology to life in front of the eyes. The computer made personal interest courses such as avaiation science possible. Little sisters and one little brother brought one opportunity after the other to love, learn, and embrace living real life with real people, hopefully together.
As the mother, I wonder. What will he be? What will this giant-sized young man with the even larger heart become once he moves on from here? Where will he go? And when? Others mothers, one of them a friend, their sons are leaving soon, serving their country in various branches of the armed forces. These are my son's friends. He mourns their leaving early, before it happens. Mourns it silently inside for the grief pales next to his respect for their choice. He doesn't speak of the sadness just carries it in his eyes. He feels big this big young man of mine. Feels big, talks big, lives big, loves big, big, everything is big big big. I don't know where he is going or what is doing when he gets there, but it wouldn't surprise me if it big. Really, really big.
Has he always been big? Big inside yes. This young man is an ever-flowing fountain of information. He actually enjoys documentaries, and will, on occasion, still give his mother a kiss on the cheek without her asking him too. As his mother, I love that. The Fourth of July is his holiday, and if something involves paintballing, it has to be fun. Colonel Redeemed is a right-brained, left-handed, soft-hearted, often-talking, man of God. Rash? Yes. Sometimes turbulent? Uh-huh. Emotional? Affirmative. Is his room clean? Rarely. Neat? Nope. Respectful? Yes. Smart? Yes. Funny? Yes, most often when he doesn't intend to be. Colonel Redeemed is a storyteller extraordinaire. One trip to the grocery store provides him with more stories than I find to tell all year long. Jesus told stories. Colonel must have gotten that from Him.
Being second born with sisters all around and having spent the first 10-11 years of his life in mostly female company has made Colonel Redeemed an expert on more female-type facts than the average brother knows. Not only can he talk weapons, tanks, and battles, Colonel can share his favorite ballroom dance styles and discuss nutritional info. with the best of them. Fashion info. can come in amazingly handy in certain situations as well. Just ask him; he knows. Being a collector of random bits of information keeps his ever-flowing fountain of facts fresh and impressive. While he prefers to be engaging in more manly pursuits, he can hold his own in a woman-driven conversation if need be. This is something I am sure a wife will appreciate in the future, should the Lord have this in store for him. This man of God has provided me, his mother, with more spontaneous adventure than I would ever have imagined.
Nothing has ever been boring concerning this child. Never. Ever. Even his entrance into the world was full of excitement. Three and a half weeks before expected, Colonel Redeemed decided to it was time to meet us. Our doctor was out of town. A new doctor was on call. He arrived via c-section "sounding a little wet" the doctor said. It was her first c-section. Thankfully, someone with experience was there with her. It was a small hospital without advanced equipment. Off our baby boy was flown to a larger hospital while we were left with only a few pictures of mama and papa touching him. Three days later, after being released from the hospital myself, My Beloved, big sister Not of This World, and I drove several hours to Colonel Redeemed. We arrived just in time for the nine o'clock feeding. For the first time, I held my baby in my arms and was amazed as the way he inhaled his food. Whoosh! It was gone! Is it ok to burp him I wondered. Will I mess up any of these tubes and wires? Where is the nurse? I can ask her. A few minutes later, she returned to check on us. She stared in awe when I asked about burping him. She couldn't believe he had eaten at all, let alone finished the bottle. Yes, please burp him. He knows his mama she said. What had been consumed in a minute or less for me had taken the nurse over 30 minutes to get down him, and even then he wouldn't eat it all.
He knew his mama she had said. To this day I remember the relief that surged through me that after three long days apart without me having held him before, he still knew his mama. How? I don't know. He had only been in my arms mere seconds before eating. Yet, somehow, he knew. Still does. I think he gets that from Jesus too. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and anothers they will not follow. (John 10:4-5) That's my prayer for Colonel Redeemed. That wherever he goes, whatever he does, he always knows the voice of Jesus, his Shepherd. That another's voice he will not follow, only that of the Shepherd Jesus Christ. May he always live big for Him, big, big, big. I am one Blessed Mama, that is for sure.
Not only are we finished, but successfully so. What a relief! Somehow, somewhere, completely by the grace of God, in the midst of all of the craziness that homeschooling and ranching produce, my son received a quality education. In fact, not only did he complete high school, he probably completed college level work in some courses. This son, he's the one who began high school at home with the craziness of a baby brother a few days old. Six weeks later, the same baby brother was across the state, his parents were with him, in a hospital for several days. Not exactly a good start for setting up a school routine.
Routine? Did the following four years ever contain a predictable routine? Probably not. They were full though. Full of learning, full of experiencing, full of observing, full of doing, full of developing into a young man of God. Full. Whole. Conversations at the meal table filled with history provided more depth and insight than a dozens of lectures ever could have. Hands soiled with grease and oil repaired machinery then put the same machinery to good use working as mechanical facts became more than a class in school. Cattle were fed, cared for, and calved bringing biology to life in front of the eyes. The computer made personal interest courses such as avaiation science possible. Little sisters and one little brother brought one opportunity after the other to love, learn, and embrace living real life with real people, hopefully together.
As the mother, I wonder. What will he be? What will this giant-sized young man with the even larger heart become once he moves on from here? Where will he go? And when? Others mothers, one of them a friend, their sons are leaving soon, serving their country in various branches of the armed forces. These are my son's friends. He mourns their leaving early, before it happens. Mourns it silently inside for the grief pales next to his respect for their choice. He doesn't speak of the sadness just carries it in his eyes. He feels big this big young man of mine. Feels big, talks big, lives big, loves big, big, everything is big big big. I don't know where he is going or what is doing when he gets there, but it wouldn't surprise me if it big. Really, really big.
Has he always been big? Big inside yes. This young man is an ever-flowing fountain of information. He actually enjoys documentaries, and will, on occasion, still give his mother a kiss on the cheek without her asking him too. As his mother, I love that. The Fourth of July is his holiday, and if something involves paintballing, it has to be fun. Colonel Redeemed is a right-brained, left-handed, soft-hearted, often-talking, man of God. Rash? Yes. Sometimes turbulent? Uh-huh. Emotional? Affirmative. Is his room clean? Rarely. Neat? Nope. Respectful? Yes. Smart? Yes. Funny? Yes, most often when he doesn't intend to be. Colonel Redeemed is a storyteller extraordinaire. One trip to the grocery store provides him with more stories than I find to tell all year long. Jesus told stories. Colonel must have gotten that from Him.
Being second born with sisters all around and having spent the first 10-11 years of his life in mostly female company has made Colonel Redeemed an expert on more female-type facts than the average brother knows. Not only can he talk weapons, tanks, and battles, Colonel can share his favorite ballroom dance styles and discuss nutritional info. with the best of them. Fashion info. can come in amazingly handy in certain situations as well. Just ask him; he knows. Being a collector of random bits of information keeps his ever-flowing fountain of facts fresh and impressive. While he prefers to be engaging in more manly pursuits, he can hold his own in a woman-driven conversation if need be. This is something I am sure a wife will appreciate in the future, should the Lord have this in store for him. This man of God has provided me, his mother, with more spontaneous adventure than I would ever have imagined.
Nothing has ever been boring concerning this child. Never. Ever. Even his entrance into the world was full of excitement. Three and a half weeks before expected, Colonel Redeemed decided to it was time to meet us. Our doctor was out of town. A new doctor was on call. He arrived via c-section "sounding a little wet" the doctor said. It was her first c-section. Thankfully, someone with experience was there with her. It was a small hospital without advanced equipment. Off our baby boy was flown to a larger hospital while we were left with only a few pictures of mama and papa touching him. Three days later, after being released from the hospital myself, My Beloved, big sister Not of This World, and I drove several hours to Colonel Redeemed. We arrived just in time for the nine o'clock feeding. For the first time, I held my baby in my arms and was amazed as the way he inhaled his food. Whoosh! It was gone! Is it ok to burp him I wondered. Will I mess up any of these tubes and wires? Where is the nurse? I can ask her. A few minutes later, she returned to check on us. She stared in awe when I asked about burping him. She couldn't believe he had eaten at all, let alone finished the bottle. Yes, please burp him. He knows his mama she said. What had been consumed in a minute or less for me had taken the nurse over 30 minutes to get down him, and even then he wouldn't eat it all.
He knew his mama she had said. To this day I remember the relief that surged through me that after three long days apart without me having held him before, he still knew his mama. How? I don't know. He had only been in my arms mere seconds before eating. Yet, somehow, he knew. Still does. I think he gets that from Jesus too. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and anothers they will not follow. (John 10:4-5) That's my prayer for Colonel Redeemed. That wherever he goes, whatever he does, he always knows the voice of Jesus, his Shepherd. That another's voice he will not follow, only that of the Shepherd Jesus Christ. May he always live big for Him, big, big, big. I am one Blessed Mama, that is for sure.