Birthdays and Mountains

Nineteen? Yes, this child is 19! Unbelievable! And this picture suits him so well. My son, the amazing, hilarious, cocky, "I've got this," tenderhearted, adventurous barrel of fun has just crossed another threshold of life. This pose is so typical of his stance when his dad or I have just told him something about how it's gonna be. And he might reply, "Now mama" with just a hint of "I don't think so" (well, really it's more than just a hint...probably more like, "I'll show you!") I know, hard to believe that a child of mine would actually have their own idea about "how it's gonna be" but it's true! This one definitely has his own ideas (they all do, some are just more expressive than others). But, isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Truly, he IS becoming a beautiful person (and always has been...remember, this is his mom speaking, ha!). Nineteen and ready to charge the world to become something huge! What that will be....we're still not sure...he's still not sure...but, one thing's for sure...it will be something huge, something great!

One of his birthday gifts is a trip back to the mountains for another quest at snowboarding. He and Caleb will hardly sleep between now and Wednesday morning when we throw the suitcases in the trunk, set our cruise to 75 and hit the road heading northeast. Steven and I will be in hog heaven just taking in the beauty of it all; the scenery and the company. The word for today was balance. At least it was the main thought in our message this morning at Faith. And, its so true that periodic times of serenity are not only needed but vital to living balanced lives. That's what these several days will be, and we are thankful to have this opportunity.

Psalm 125:2 says, "As the mountains surround Jerusalem (literally), so the LORD surrounds His people (literally in the unseen world) both now and forevermore." Isn't that good? I will gaze upon some literal mountains this week and I'm thankful in advance for the surrounding presence of the LORD Who will minister to me there. In a new way. In a fresh way. I love Him so!