KIDS GROW UP

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

One of my father’s frequent sayings was, “Where does the time go?”
I didn’t really get that one when I was younger. Now, I understand it very well!

My mother used to quote a line from HER father, J. Philip Richard who died in 1960 at the age of 77. He used to say, “It seemed like all my life, every time I wanted to do something, I would be told, ‘you’re TOO YOUNG!’ But suddenly, after years of being told, ‘you’re TOO YOUNG!’ I found myself being told ‘you’re TOO OLD!’.”

I’ve also come to appreciate that one, too. I guess it’s my graying hair that makes me look even older than the age 56 that I am. Sunday during the church service, a retired guy asked me, “How do you LIKE being RETIRED?!” I guess he thought I was at least 65! I replied that I don’t plan to be retired for at least ten years. Well, the FINANCIAL reality is: there’s no way I will be able to afford to be retired for at least twenty years! It seems like yesterday that I was the parent of three preschoolers and looking forward to my “prime” years of life and ministry. It really does seem like yesterday.

Brittany’s getting married on Saturday. When our family moved into Framingham and I began pastoring First Assembly of God of Framingham, Brittany was one of the first little kids I remember meeting. It was kind of easy to remember the Shaws’ names because there were only three of them and their names all started with “B”- Bill, Bernadette, and Brittany. I can still see myself meeting very thin and brunette Bernadette Shaw as she carried her very happy blonde 18-month-old named Brittany. Brittany was only three weeks younger than our Amy. There was a group of kids who were all about the same age who grew up together at First Assembly of God. Amy and Brittany played with dolls and coloring books and other stuff. It seemed very quick that they were in Kindergarten together at New Covenant Christian School. I can still hear Mrs. Higgins on parents’ night instructing us to send our kids to school with “healthy snacks” (something that’s not particularly easy to do!). Then the pages of life turned and the kids were in middle school. That was around the time each of my elderly parents were very ill, and I was stretched and stressed between pastoring, trying to help my parents, and trying to parent kids in their early teens.

Amy and Brittany each went to Marian High School. Amy got involved in drama and Brittany got involved in Amnesty International. Each of the girls were very mature and high achievers. Both Amy and Brittany graduated among the top ten kids in their class. I think one was number 7 and one was number 8 and I honestly don’t know which was which. Both were leaders and in National Honor Society. It’s not REAL common today, but some people DO meet their life partner in high school. That was the case with Brittany. I don’t know if it was Sophomore or Junior year that she started dating Matt Supple.

Matt went on to the Citadel in South Carolina and into the Marine Corps. Like many little girls, Amy and Brittany dreamed of their wedding days when they’d be “the bride”. As little girls, they promised to be in each other’s weddings. Brittany was one of the bridesmaids and Amy’s wedding in Missouri two years ago, and Amy is flying into town to attend Brittany’s wedding this coming weekend. Each of these girls is a “class act”- Amy a pediatric nurse and Brittany a high school teacher. In fact, Brit became a high school history teacher, and that’s that I originally prepared to do “many moons” ago.

Yes, now I’m thinking of the sayings of my father and grandfather! It seems incredible that all these years went by SO fast! Kids grow up!