CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The moral of the story
“God loves each one of us, as if there was only one of us.” -- Augustine
Two weeks ago my husband, Jon, and I received a cute e-mail from our
youngest daughter, Amy, asking us to come for a weekend visit at her
college.
I talked to Jon at work, and he was disappointed that the weekend she
suggested would not work for him, nor would the following one.
“I can’t go that long without seeing the girls,” Jon said. I agreed.
Then Jon asked, “What if we just go?”
“What do you mean just go?”
“I mean, let’s go today.”
I didn’t think I understood him correctly, so to clarify, I asked,
“Today?”
“That’s what I mean, what do you have going on today?”
“I have a dentist appointment in an hour and a lot I need to do, but I’ll
call you when I get home,” I answered.
As I hung up, I stared at the many pictures of Kelly and Amy on the
kitchen counter and realized how much I missed them. I am not a
spontaneous person, but I would do anything to see my daughters.At the
dentist’s office, I told Nancy, the hygienist, about Jon’s suggestion.
She is a friend, she knows our girls and she is a mother, as well.
“Of course, you have to go,” she said. I agreed. So while she went to
work on my teeth, I went to work on my mental to-do list. I prayed that
God would help us take care of the details.
I decided I could accomplish all the necessities in just several hours.
Everything else could wait.
Jon pulled into the driveway just as I did. He must have known what my
decision would be. He too had plenty to do, but he too would do anything
to see our daughters. He also narrowed down his essentials to just a few
hours.
Jon and I worked at Mach 1 speed and then hit the road.
We totally forgot about the miles and traffic the moment we hugged Kelly
and Amy. We loved every minute together. We took them out for a nice
dinner, and they told us what they’d learned in classes, what they’d
learned outside class and what God had been teaching them.
Then we took them back to campus. Their evenings were just winding up as
our’s was winding down.The next morning we had breakfast in Kelly’s
sorority house, where we sat and talk for hours. Then we took Amy out to
lunch and we walked and talked for hours.
We headed back to campus because both girls had work they had to do. We
sat together at a picnic table in the shade and worked. It was so
satisfying just to be near them.Then Jon and I had to head home.
The next morning I looked at those same precious pictures on the kitchen
counter and smiled. I was so thankful for every moment we’d spent
together.
I realized that God, too, loves every moment he can spend with us, his
children. He certainly has proved that he would do anything to be with
us. He’s just waiting for us to ask.
And you can quote me on that.----
* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks
frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7
cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140 No. 505,
Newport Beach 92658.
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