Sunday I hurried to my son's house in Raleigh after church to watch the two little boys, Benny and Niland, while their parents got some work done. They were leaving Monday evening to drive to New Jersey to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Bernette's parents. When I got there, they were finishing lunch, and Benny was in his highchair, food all over his face. When I commented on his messy face, Niland stated, "Don't worry, Nana. Daddy or Mommy will clean him up!"
Ah, to have a daddy or mommy clean up the messes that we make in life! It's taken for granted when we're young, but as we grow and become adults ourselves, the role of our parents changes, and most often we are left alone to clean up our messes. Wrong choices, bad friends, awful or lazy habits, spending money we don't have, drugs or alcohol dependency -- the list goes on and on. Most of the time, we're able to fix or make right what we've done wrong, but the consequences of our choices often linger and frequently affect our friends and family. But when it comes to sin, there's nothing we can do to rid ourselves of it; we can only claim the blood of Jesus as our covering, read His Word, and do our best to follow it. He's the only one who can clean up our adult messes and make good come from what we've destroyed.
After Benny was cleaned up, I picked him up in my arms, and he leaned into my shoulder in a baby hug. I asked Niland, when Benny was out of my arms and running through the house, if I could have a hug. His reply: "No, Nana, only when you leave!"
I played with the boys in the large room over the garage, where they have an inflatable bouncy and lots of toys. Book reading was brief -- Benny likes to turn the pages before I can read them. From the second story window, we watched Daddy blow the leaves that had fallen from the many oak trees in the yard, forming a large pile at the edge of the driveway in the street. When he moved to the back yard, we pulled out the double stroller and went for a walk to the country club a short distance away, where we saw a wedding party taking photographs. The day was exceptionally warm and sunny. Niland ran all the way there, and I had to walk quickly to keep up with him. On the way back, we threw leaves at each other and over Benny, who was sitting in the stroller, and when we got back to the house, I introduced the boys to playing in leaves! Benny sat in the big pile at the end of the driveway and waved his hands through the leaves, and Niland and I threw them in the air and swatted at them as they drifted down. When Daddy completed blowing the leaves in the back yard, he joined us. The rest of my time was spent playing in the leaves and pushing Benny on the baby swing which hung from a large oak branch, causing the swing to make a very long arch back and forth across the yard. I kept running back and forth with Ben as he swung, and he laughed and laughed as he slowly spun around. What joy to hear the laughter of a child! I was so blessed.
I got my hug from Niland when I left and another from Benny, who also gave me a high 5. Yes, he's only 16 months old and knows how to high-5! Bernette had packed for their New Jersey trip, the leaves were blown off the yard -- for now, anyway (there are so many more yet to fall!), and I had a wonderful time with my grandkids. I slid into my car and started the engine with a sigh. When I look back on my life and the many messes I've made, I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for cleaning those up and blessing me with so much at this point in my life. Life is good, and it's because God is good! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And remember to thank the One who gives life!
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