Philippians 4:7 'and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.'
In September of 1990 the USA was introduced to a television show called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
My son Donnie was a seventeen year old.... a very rebellious one. Our home became a battleground from first thing in the morning to the last thing at night. If I gave him a time to be home, he'd miss it. When I said no to his idea of packing every possible friend in his car for a joy ride, he may have said okay, but I finally figured that one out too. And it was not okay. We lived in the country side (2 lane roads only). This meant that if he went down the road one way and had to come back, he'd have to drive past our house before going to see his other friends. It must have worked very well for him. I was completely fooled. Until one day I just happened to look out the window. Donnie was driving by. As he passed the house, several heads in the back seat shot up. (I just know they were probably laughing at me over it.)
And of course, when my son got home, a new battle began. Except on Monday nights. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air aired at 8:00 pm. It was a program that any family with teenagers could relate to. It was for many, our first introduction to the world of Will Smith. Even the theme song had us in stitches along with the kookie clothing he wore, and his baseball cap skewed on backwards.
Ah, peace reigned along with side splitting laughter. I saw my son in his real light. Just a kid, somewhere between boy and young man and both battling for position in his life. Donnie had his own battles just like any teenager. And I had the battle of not wanting to let go, wanting to shield him from the hurts of life that I knew were coming.
How I cherish these memories now. They bring me peace and remind me of the good times.
I'd love to meet Will Smith someday. I've kind of 'adopted' him in a way. I'd love to share with him the memories that I hold so dear.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Yesterday Once More
John 14: 1-4
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place I am going."
Today is my son Donnie's birthday's. It's hard to believe he's been gone almost eight years. I've been asked before (and maybe you have too) whether, with the passing of time if I'm over it. I can clearly say 'yes' and 'no'. Those of you who have been there know what I'm talking about. We grieve, we heal, we think, 'okay, I'm ready to move on.' Then just at that time we face another obstacle we didn't even know we had. Maybe it was a favorite song our child loved. Perhaps someone suggests a special place where we used to go with our child and we find ourselves unable to do so because we fear the memory will hurt too much. And sometime just the 'mention' is enough of a reminder to send us spinning.
I have one of those obstacles. It had to do with a Christmas Tradition and Donnie. When he was little, we'd watch all the Christmas specials on television. But there was one in particular (which I'd rather not say because it is so close to my heart) that I found I couldn't watch. Just thinking about it hurt.
Thank God for divine intervention.
Last evening I turned on the television. I was going to watch a program a friend recommended. Instead the Christmas special I used to watch with Donnie has just started. I didn't change the channel this time. I instead, sat down and watched. It was just like yesterday, with four year old Donnie sitting next to me, crumbs falling from his little hands as he ate his cookies and the calming presence of the Lord surrounding us. Total peace. This was one of those 'your days of mourning will end' moments.
Some people might say the whole thing is a fluke. Not so. God always knows what He's doing and He appoints the time to do it.
I feel like I've been given the best Christmas gift of all; 'Yesterday Once More'
May you be blessed...
Mary Netreba
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place I am going."
Today is my son Donnie's birthday's. It's hard to believe he's been gone almost eight years. I've been asked before (and maybe you have too) whether, with the passing of time if I'm over it. I can clearly say 'yes' and 'no'. Those of you who have been there know what I'm talking about. We grieve, we heal, we think, 'okay, I'm ready to move on.' Then just at that time we face another obstacle we didn't even know we had. Maybe it was a favorite song our child loved. Perhaps someone suggests a special place where we used to go with our child and we find ourselves unable to do so because we fear the memory will hurt too much. And sometime just the 'mention' is enough of a reminder to send us spinning.
I have one of those obstacles. It had to do with a Christmas Tradition and Donnie. When he was little, we'd watch all the Christmas specials on television. But there was one in particular (which I'd rather not say because it is so close to my heart) that I found I couldn't watch. Just thinking about it hurt.
Thank God for divine intervention.
Last evening I turned on the television. I was going to watch a program a friend recommended. Instead the Christmas special I used to watch with Donnie has just started. I didn't change the channel this time. I instead, sat down and watched. It was just like yesterday, with four year old Donnie sitting next to me, crumbs falling from his little hands as he ate his cookies and the calming presence of the Lord surrounding us. Total peace. This was one of those 'your days of mourning will end' moments.
Some people might say the whole thing is a fluke. Not so. God always knows what He's doing and He appoints the time to do it.
I feel like I've been given the best Christmas gift of all; 'Yesterday Once More'
May you be blessed...
Mary Netreba
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