Susan and I dropped Karlyn off at college last week, so now eight-year-old John is the only child at home. He says he is happy to have his own bathroom. We stayed with Kinsey and Jordan in Little Rock where Kinsey is a nurse and Jordan is in his third year of med school. It just so happened that Mike, a friend of mine from Atlanta, received a stem cell transplant at UAMS the day we arrived. Sam Walton, who died of multiple myeloma, helped make Little Rock a national center for dealing with this disease. Kinsey and I visited Mike and hopefully encouraged him during a very difficult time. Please pray for my friend.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve received calls from Taylor, Kinsey, and Karlyn dealing with different challenging situations. Each conversation included the admission: “Dad, I don’t know what to do.” Thankfully, in every conversation I knew what I needed to say. Taylor and Kinsey have recently celebrated first-year anniversaries of marriage and Karlyn is away from home for the first time. Life is much different from when they were under the roof of Mom and Dad, but I am glad they feel liberty to ask their parents for input when things are a little confusing. The life experience of the older should be a blessing to the younger.
Taylor called one morning before 7:00 as we were both driving to work. His question dealt with coaching and the input I gave was probably not exactly what he wanted to hear. But I’ve coached a long time and I knew it was the best advice. Taylor had to choose whether to follow the path his father suggested (which he did), but I spoke confidently because I saw angles and long term effects that a younger coach might not consider.
If we cherish such opportunities to bless our children, how does the Heavenly Father feel toward us? If a child of God needs direction and wisdom, will He not give it? And the wisdom of God is so much more perfect than our wisdom! I was sharing this thought with Kinsey and she said, “Of course, Dad, God has all wisdom… but I like hearing your voice over the phone.” Oh to hear God’s voice clearly all the time! But He is there… and He answers… and we can share any struggle… and He’s given us the Counselor… and we can trust him. God is love and his heart toward his children goes far beyond our love for our own children. So let us ask and not doubt.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6