... the boys were growing up.
Over these three and a half months they have all grown so much. In size definitely, each of them have grown out of the clothes we originally packed and we’ve bought new ones. Yet they have also grown as people more like Jesus as God has shaped them and matured them through this odyssey.
They have all grown mightily in patience with long waits and frustrating boredom in uncomfortable circumstances. They’ve all grown in tolerance of one another’s deficits and appreciation of one another’s strengths. They’ve all grown in appreciation of what they enjoy at home in relationships, space, freedom and food. None of these growths would have occurred so quickly were it not for the close proximity living and challenges of travel that we have been privileged to enjoy and endure together in this time.
I have likewise grown in love for each of them beyond my wildest dreams. I am quite broken hearted that our odyssey is over and that as I write this post they are in separate bedrooms once more and I am more than 10m away from any one of them. I can’t hear them breathing, I can’t hear them whispering, giggling or wrestling. I miss them terribly and I’m still in the same house.
Each night in the RV it was quite difficult to get them to be quiet and go to sleep. Such exciting days, such exciting plans for the next day and such close proximity meant that it was hard for them to calm down and go to sleep. To help this Karen would journal & plan the details of the next day in the back of the RV while I would wash-up right next to where the boys were supposed to be sleeping. My presence that close was enough to silence the atmosphere and even though I was making a racket washing up they would all generally be asleep by the time I finished. This was also a terrific time for me to observe them and pray for them. With all this time I have been privileged to see them grow more like Jesus.
Time and again throughout the trip we have had people speak to us about our boys and their extraordinary good behaviour, listening, sharing, helping, obedience, cheerfulness, patience and more. Tour guides, fellow passengers, stewardesses, people we’ve stayed with and complete strangers who have watched from a distance and then approached us to make comment. God has blessed us mightily with four wonderful sons who are a credit to his great work in them and an honour for us.
I know, appreciate and thank God for my four sons now more than ever before and will always treasure the precious time of this odyssey with them, when I was free to watch them grow.
Michael
Over these three and a half months they have all grown so much. In size definitely, each of them have grown out of the clothes we originally packed and we’ve bought new ones. Yet they have also grown as people more like Jesus as God has shaped them and matured them through this odyssey.
They have all grown mightily in patience with long waits and frustrating boredom in uncomfortable circumstances. They’ve all grown in tolerance of one another’s deficits and appreciation of one another’s strengths. They’ve all grown in appreciation of what they enjoy at home in relationships, space, freedom and food. None of these growths would have occurred so quickly were it not for the close proximity living and challenges of travel that we have been privileged to enjoy and endure together in this time.
I have likewise grown in love for each of them beyond my wildest dreams. I am quite broken hearted that our odyssey is over and that as I write this post they are in separate bedrooms once more and I am more than 10m away from any one of them. I can’t hear them breathing, I can’t hear them whispering, giggling or wrestling. I miss them terribly and I’m still in the same house.
Each night in the RV it was quite difficult to get them to be quiet and go to sleep. Such exciting days, such exciting plans for the next day and such close proximity meant that it was hard for them to calm down and go to sleep. To help this Karen would journal & plan the details of the next day in the back of the RV while I would wash-up right next to where the boys were supposed to be sleeping. My presence that close was enough to silence the atmosphere and even though I was making a racket washing up they would all generally be asleep by the time I finished. This was also a terrific time for me to observe them and pray for them. With all this time I have been privileged to see them grow more like Jesus.
Time and again throughout the trip we have had people speak to us about our boys and their extraordinary good behaviour, listening, sharing, helping, obedience, cheerfulness, patience and more. Tour guides, fellow passengers, stewardesses, people we’ve stayed with and complete strangers who have watched from a distance and then approached us to make comment. God has blessed us mightily with four wonderful sons who are a credit to his great work in them and an honour for us.
I know, appreciate and thank God for my four sons now more than ever before and will always treasure the precious time of this odyssey with them, when I was free to watch them grow.
Michael
:)
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