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| Mom and me on a slightly more harmonious occasion! |
We are out for Thanksgiving break! When I was in school, we only had Thursday and Friday off. Of course, we started school after Labor Day and now we start about August 10th so a few extra days are just a payback. I've been getting ready all day for my trip to Wichita to see my brothers and their wives. Actually, it's been one of those rare days for me where I really got non-school tasks accomplished. When I leave for mission trips in July, I'm still stuffing and weighing my suitcases as I head out to the airport so I'm sort of proud of myself. I gassed the car, went to the bank, did laundry and cleaned up the apartment, entered all of my grades, and worked out twice. But about an hour ago, I saw a friend on Facebook's status that she was disappointed about cancelling her trip with her husband, who I teach with, because of bad weather in Dallas. WHOA- I'm supposed to be driving through Dallas in about twelve hours. I googled Dallas weather and sure enough, winter storm warning starting at 6 AM tomorrow. It didn't take me long to decide to wait at least until tomorrow night or Monday morning. Both Dave and Scott are teaching Monday and Tuesday so I don't think it should be that big of a deal for them- I left phone messages in case you're wondering. Still, I don't see them that often and missing an extra day with family is a letdown.
I don't think what I'm going to tell you flashed through my mind when I made my mind up to delay my journey but it had to be a flashing light in my subconscious and it has to do with my mom. My folks moved from York, Nebraska to Lubbock, Texas when I was going into my first senior year at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Dad had taken a position in the counseling department at Lubbock Christian University and mom was retiring after years of teaching public elementary school. I had started on my Master's Degree in Education and came to Lubbock after first semester finals. It was right after New Year's and Dad had flown to South Africa to do some sort of workshop for Christians in Johannesburg. The second semester for Harding was three or four days off and it was time for me to leave the next day. The weather, however, was turning ominous quickly. Predictions said it was coming into west Texas and the entire state could be shut down. I feared I would be stuck out in the Panhandle for a week, would get behind in my classes, and made the decision to depart immediately. It was already turning nasty but I thought I could beat it. I had a plan. Mom's brother, Uncle Bill, lived in her hometown of Nashville, Arkansas and if I could make it there, the rest was manageable. Predictably, Mom was not in favor of my new itinerary. She was afraid and my car was not great but I was bound and determined. She practically begged me not to go and I can still see her on the front steps in Lubbock with, I'm guessing, tears in her eyes as I pulled out of the driveway. You've probably surmised that I survived but that scene has haunted me to this day and I don't think Mom and I ever discussed it again. I live with some leftover guilt.
You know, it's funny how my parents handled things differently. Dad would simply have told me, "You're not going," and that would have been the end of the conversation. If Mom had told me that she forbade me to leave, I would have been obedient.....but she didn't and I drove away. In class this week, we read Luke 2:41-52 where Jesus is left behind in Jerusalem during Passover week. Only one parent spoke when the future messiah was reunited with His folks in the temple....and it wasn't Joseph. She asked why her son had treated them in this fashion and Jesus replied in His first recorded words that He had to be in His father's house. I don't know if they ever brought it up again but Luke 2:51 says this:
But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
I can only hope my mom treasured our little encounter in her heart. I know she forgave me- that's just what moms do.
Applicable quote of the day:
"Only mothers can think of the future - because they give birth to it in their children."
Maxim Gorky
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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