BLAKE
Almost three years ago I wrote Christmas Child and
the memories were sweet. As I revisit this blog post my heart is heavy.
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CHRISTMAS CHILD
It has been many
years now since my wife and I have taken in foster children. The kids
were great but, at times, the advocacy was difficult. At one point we had
a little boy who stayed with us much longer than anticipated. Karen
worked tirelessly to protect and find a wonderful home for this little
boy. The whole process took a few years enabling me to do something I
maybe should have shielded myself from....we developed a special kind of a
bond.
The image never
goes away. As I would sit and read in the early morning my eyes would
catch bouncing, curly hair traipsing down the stairs. Rubbing the sleep
from his eyes he would plop down next to me, wrap himself up in my arms and
keep me company. Sometimes we didn't talk, but often we chatted about
"stuff". It wasn't long now and he was gone, we had all finally
settled on a good home, I didn't realize right away but this little boy had cut
out a piece of my heart and taken it with him.
How much more must
Christmas have felt to God? He wrapped up His Son, set Him in a cold
manger and left Him in a warped, crazy world. God knew this baby would be
mocked, ridiculed, beaten and killed. But He also knew there was no other
way to defeat man's sinful hearts.
Oh how glad I am
that God was willing to suffer the pain of separation so I could find this babe
of Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
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After sacrificing his time and life in Afghanistan to
protect our freedom Blake could battle no more. He passed away fighting the
demons he was unable to cope with. After twenty some years Blake had reached out
to us and tried to connect. If I could have just wrapped him up in my arms and
talked about “stuff” again would it have helped? Of course there is always the “what
ifs”… We were so close, I wish we could have reached him but the past was all
too consuming.
That Babe of Christmas is still waiting to wrap us in His
arms and shield us from the “stuff” we battle. Don’t give up…He’s waiting.
