Recently 2 of our 3 sons planned to come to visit with their children for a weekend. On Thursday afternoon, we went and picked up 2 grandsons with the plan for their mom & dad to come the next evening for the weekend. We had a great dinner at McDonalds, watched a movie, and then they went to bed. Two hours later my wife CJ and I went to bed with the youngest grandson sleeping on an inflatable mattress in our bedroom. Twenty minutes later we hear that horrible, unmistakable sound of a child vomiting. Going all over the pillow, sheets, and himself, we spent the next 20 minutes cleaning him up, remaking the bed, and praying for a miracle for the rest of the night. No such luck… 20 minutes later the same scenario! Now with 2 sets of sheet going in the washer, I’m thinking this won’t work, so we agree to sleep in a recliner, taking turns holding our small grandson as he continues to have the “dry heaves” every 20 minutes for the rest of the night, going through 8 more towels we kept putting around his neck to catch whatever may appear.
Morning always brings hope after a night of sickness: he feels a little better, and has some water & toast. We call dad to come & take him home while leaving his other son here. Later our other son brings his 2 kids over and we have a great night, playing with toys & watching “Peabody” before bed. Friday ends great & the weekend is back on track!
Saturday morning, we go for a walk in state forest behind our house & plan to go to a children’s museum in the afternoon. Just before lunch, our grandson with us since Thursday night says “My tummy hurts!” Despite the fact he laid down in bed on his own, we are in denial & tell him “You just need to eat lunch”. A common sense warning to grandparents everywhere: when a grandchild says “my tummy hurts”, don’t allow them to sit on top of the steps in your home! I watch from my desk in the loft as he hurls a stream down 6 steps! I clean up the mess while CJ tries to comfort him and clean him up. Our other son still with us quickly sends his kids down the basement and runs around packing their car, hoping to spare his kids from the curse. He is gone in 20 minutes, a new record for packing!
Our first son returns to care for his son, now resting on the sofa with a bucket nearby. I watch my son run to his side every 20 minutes or so, holding the bucket & trying to calm his agony. It reminds me of doing the same thing for him about 30 years ago. I truly believe God implants his deep love for us in parents, enabling them to show the same parental love and do all kinds of gross and exhausting stuff, willing to give their time and even their life for their children!
Later that afternoon, my wife gets sick as well and goes to bed to rest. My son and I think about what we will do for dinner, and I, being wiser with age, choose oatmeal (at least it sounds safe!). My son opts for nachos and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. I remind him “take a good look at what you are eating; you may see it again later”! Unfortunately, we are both doomed! About 2 in the morning I got sick. I had made the customary plea deal with God to spare me for a couple days so I could take care of my wife and grandson, but to no avail. About 20 minutes later I heard my son in the bathroom as well, and now the flu had officially spread to everyone in the house.
As we woke to a slow recovery on Sunday morning, I was reminded at how fragile we really are, and how quickly we can be physically, emotionally, and even spiritually wounded. It reminded me of the words to a song by the late, wonderful Christian songwriter Rich Mullins in his song “We are not as strong as we think we are.”
“Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are
We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are”
Once we get past our pride and false bravado about being strong & invincible, we have the opportunity to lean on and trust in God for his strength and wisdom. We in the “baby boomer” generation are constantly reminded that we can’t physically do what we used to do as “young bucks”, we make strange sounds when we get up, and our discussions often lead to what vitamins & medications we’re taking to try and somehow discover our lost youth. But as we swallow our pride and trust the Lord, we are reminded that God not only wants to renew us physically, but more importantly, renew us spiritually so we won’t fear anything in life, knowing that he is ultimately in charge of our future! One of my favorite passages is from Isaiah 40:
Isaiah 40:6-8, 28-31 (NLT)
6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
The good news is that no matter what age we are, we are not alone! God wants to help us face life with peace and joy, and will help us through the most difficult and horrible things life throws at us. This is my first blog on this website, and I hope to share one or 2 blogs a week, sharing scripture and hopefully some helpful insights I have learned from 38 years of being a pastor to several wonderful congregations. Please share with me things you are concerned about as “baby booomers”, and I will try to look at it from a biblical perspective and hopefully shed some light. Thanks for taking time to read this! Please share your comments, and I hope we can continue to grow in faith together and finish well our race of faith!