Sunday, we timed our feedings just perfectly so that we could make it to Sunday school and church. There were several questions posed, many of which I could not have possibly fully grasped before becoming a parent. The lesson began with “have you ever experienced a storm?” I have to admit, my childhood called for pretty clear skies, but over the last several years, I can honestly say that I have experienced some torrential downpours. Right before Bill and I got engaged, he was in a serious skiing accident that nearly took his life. He hit an ice patch after trying to help out a little girl that had fallen and broken her arm and ran into a tree. He broke several ribs, severed his spleen and collapsed a lung. I would call that a pretty big thunderstorm. Quite literally, if you live in Houston, we all weathered the storm of Hurricane Ike. Bill and I had just moved in to our first home and I can remember searching through boxes to find flashlights. Much to my mother’s dismay we decided to ‘hunker down’ and ride out the storm in the dark hallway of our new home with our pug, Tucker nuzzled between us and our battery powered radio giving us live updates. That day called for cloudy skies, lost tree limbs and 13 days without power. When I lost my grandfather (Kenneth Stone) unexpectedly right before Bill and I were to wed, my world was turned upside down. He was a mere 65 and such an amazing and influential man that touched so many lives. I had experienced death before, but never unexpectedly and never to someone that I was so close to. This past year, Bill and I lost 3 grandfathers (Douglas Johnson, Terrell Couch and Jack McFerran) and my grandmother on my dad’s side (Betty Johnson). Each of them hold a special place in our hearts and Bill and I will have truly amazing stories to tell to little Liam about their accomplishments and life stories. I only wish they could have been around to tell them! Our latest storm came when I was put on bed rest for pre-mature labor. And yet, even throughout all of these storms, Bill and I managed to weather them pretty unscathed.
The second question was along the lines of if we believed that God gave us those storms with a purpose. Well, I have given that a lot of thought. I believe that God gave us free will and so with that, we will all encounter storms, but I cannot believe that God does things to hurt us on purpose. I think that God gives us the rainbow after the storm, the sunshine after the rains and the silver lining amongst the dark clouds. It was through Bill’s skiing accident that we realized how powerful our love was for one another and we were able to share that with our families as we all grew closer together. During Hurricane Ike, Bill and I were able to meet all of our new neighbors and their families so as to look out for one another and help each other out. With death, there is also life and we will ensure that their legacies live on. And, Bill and I learned to lean on one another, once more, to protect our new family. I learned that I cannot always be in control and that sometimes you have to let go.
The third question was “have you ever had a moment that you wish you could freeze in your life, where everything seemed to be perfect?” I think many could say the day they got engaged, or the day they were married. For those of you with children, it was the moment that your child was born that probably seemed ‘perfect.’ On May 10th at 6:30PM, I experienced a truly perfect moment. Bill and I strapped Liam in his stroller to go on an evening walk. It was a surprisingly cool evening with a breeze and as we started down the driveway, a mother blue jay was teaching her babies how to fly. As we paused for a moment to watch in awe of these birds, the wind picked up and it was as if Liam was experiencing nature for the first time. His senses were heightened and he began to laugh, and I mean really laugh as the wind carried across his face. We must have sat outside in the driveway for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of complete perfection.
And the final question was “is there anyone in your life that you would do anything for?” And of course my answer includes my family and my amazing husband, but it is through Liam that I understand this question the most as I would do anything for that little boy. I think the moral of the story is that like a mother/father would do anything for their son, so would God do for us. And, no matter the storms in our lives, we also experience those moments of true bliss. It is those experiences that teach us how to stop and take in the laughter that the wind brings.
Tonight I experienced another moment of true happiness. My son rolled over for the first time. My worst fear as a mother is that I will not be the one to experience these milestones through Liam’s eyes. That I might get a phone call from daycare and have to experience his first moments through someone else. But today was amazing… while we laid on a blanket, reading in the nursery, Liam rolled over. He looked up at me with those proud eyes and squealed in excitement… and I, too squealed!
