For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2  (NIV)

I left Little Rock in 2000, leaving my then 3-month-old son, Andrew with his dad. So many times in the last 23 years, I’ve longed and prayed for him to live in the same town as his Mom. Because of my balance disability, he was better off in Little Rock with an able-bodied parent to care for him. I HATED IT! This was not the life I signed up for! My dreams certainly weren’t coming true.

I had not even grown accustomed to my new, disabled life when I was hit with a divorce and custody battle. Seriously God! What else? I have learned over the years to not ask that question. It was more important for Andrew to have a normal life, surrounded by friends and family who loved him….but not his Mom.

Fast-forward 23 years. Andrew is now living in Louisville with my brother Andrew. Years ago my brother, Andrew decided to change his name (around the family) to Uncle A to eliminate all the confusion when my son was in town about which Andrew was being spoken to.

So now Uncle A is employing my son Andrew at his own company AND has invited him to live in his home. Uncle A is a marketing consultant. His purpose for having Andrew live and work with him was to help him grow up and take responsibility for his life’s direction. With that newfound confidence, my son could either flourish in a new career or complete his college degree…OR BOTH!

I’ve seen Andrew’s confidence level increase since he’s been here. He seems truly happy being able to accomplish tasks he never even tried before. He’s meeting new people and learning a whole new city. My prayer now is for him to develop some friendships to make Louisville feel like a real home.

It almost seems surreal to have Andrew living right here in Louisville. My first thought was of his father. He actually encouraged Andrew to move here. They are so close!!…yet he prompted him to move here in hopes of giving him a new purpose and direction in his life. What a totally unselfish love he showed for his son. Being in Andrew’s company so much now makes me realize what his dad sacrificed in hopes of giving him a brighter future.

One of the gifts that Andrew inherited from his dad was his passion and talent for cooking. Now my son cooks for me! My idea of cooking is constructing a good, healthy salad and microwaving leftovers that someone else made. Home cooking is a new and novel experience in my kitchen.

Am I happy that my dream has come true? I thank God every day for giving me an opportunity to be more than a long-distance mom. I’m keenly aware though that this is not about me. As ecstatic as I am to have my son here, he needs to feel that what he’s doing is making a difference for him, and for others. I want him to experience that sense of purpose and accomplishment that comes from doing the best thing.

I know that God sent this blessing to me! In typical Mary fashion though, I’ve worried about what I might do to mess it up. Don’t we all do that in some ways? We can’t believe it happened. We didn’t deserve it!

“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Luke 1:25 (NIV)

Why can’t we just let God be God…and love us like He wants to?

It’s human nature to magnify the negative things that have happened to us. We keep looking for the other shoe to fall. We tend to look over the countless blessings we have in our life. We need to remember our special gifts and talents; our relationships and that we live in a free country!

Most importantly, we need to remember we have a heavenly Father who adores us! We didn’t do anything to deserve it either. He loves us because He created us in His own image. We are His family!

We can thank God by being the best version of ourselves. We can pray and surrender not just our worries, but all the people we love to His loving care. Trust our God to know the best way to mold others….then leave it alone! He knows much better than us which way a person should go.

If we truly believe that we are God’s beloved, then we can also believe that He will send us gifts/blessings to show that precious love. So pray for…and then EXPECT the blessings to come…in God’s timing of course. That’s the hard part. Pray for a healthy dose of patience too!

When I think about it, God has not only made my dream come true. He’s also showing his love and favor for Andrew, his father, Uncle A and all those who are enjoying this current change in Andrew’s geography.

Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:26  (NIV) 

Dear Lord,

You continuously surprise us with Your blessings. Help us to just relax and enjoy Your favor. We know that You work everything together for all of our good. Show us the good You want us to do in response to Your kindness to us! 

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