You know how it is. Before you have children you say lots of things you don’t really mean, winners like, “Oh, I want all my children to look just like you, honey.” Well, God took me at my word and gave me the little people. Crusader’s handsome smile, Think Tank’s analytical skills, Maven’s strength and flexibility, Brown Sugar’s sweet tooth, Songbird’s business acumen, and the Lone Ranger’s brown curls—all Hubby. M&M? Well, he’s his own little man. Neither one of us will take full responsibility for him. You’d think all they got from me are my dry skin, the ability to cross their toes (don’t ask), and a love for words. And oh, yes, that strong will. That’s mine, too.
The Crusader exercised some of that will last weekend when he stepped in our kitchen, sporting a second earring and hair up to there. Lord knows I never pictured myself braiding my son’s hair, debating the benefits of nose piercing, and listening to Kirk Franklin’s collaboration with 2 Chainz and Kanye West. I mean, Hubby and I are Mr. and Mrs. Plain John and Jane. I had to google “2 Chainz” because I’d actually spelled it “Two Chains.” (Go figure.) By the end of spring break I was wondering, “Whose child is this?”
“Mine,” God told me.
The Crusader is His own man—God’s, not mine. The Lord made him exactly the way he is and gave the Crusader a strong, saving faith to boot. No, he doesn’t always dress or think the way I want him to, but that works out to my favor. I find that the Crusader holds up this mirror for me, showing me just how quick I am to judge and consider my preferences as absolutes, as rights and wrongs. And yes, I hold up my own mirror for him so he can see how much better and employable he looks with his pants pulled up. Just like God gave him to us to raise up, He gave us to the Crusader, so blackjack no trade back.
Now, we’re all going to ride the “as long as you live in our house” train because we bought tickets 18 years ago, but I know that at the heart of things is Crusader’s love for God and seeing it at work in his life. From his faith flow his love and trust for us, his family and all our rules. I love his eyebrows because Hubby gave those to him, but I love his heart even more, and that’s all God’s. “…For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
