Running footsteps followed the lilting, “Hi” that preceded the blonde, brown-eyed sprite of nine that dashed up the side-walk toward us a few evenings ago. Nicole lives two streets over, and we’ve never met her parents or the rest of her family. But if she catches a glimpse of Donn and me out on our evening walk, she races over for a hug and a chat.
Shivers of joy run through me when I hear her sweet voice. Or the precious voices of Kylee and Liam, the six-year-old twins who live catty-corner across the street, who also come running for hugs if they spot us when we leave the house. They love eating Donn’s banana bread—and aren’t shy about asking him to make them some—and listening to me read stories.
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love children—it began before I was grown up myself. I loved going to my sister, Lucy’s, house to help take care of my nephews and, later, babysitting for the children of our friends when we were newly-weds. The daughter of a friend of mine told me after I’d been interacting with her children one day, “I can tell from watching you that you were created to be with kids.”
Before Donn and I married, I wanted at least four children (Donn wanted three), but when I almost died when our twins were born, we decided they needed a mother more than they needed a brother or sister. In spite of this fact, God has found ways to bring children into our lives in every season.
Neighborhood children came to our home in the housing development in Penn Hills and would have stayed all day if I hadn’t sent them home. I held Bible Clubs and we also taught children’s church at the Free Methodist Church we attended there. Later we had a Christian Nursery School in Sandy Lake and taught CYC at the Wesleyan Church. We also worked with children in various capacities at the Lakeview United Methodist Church and did foster care for the Mercer County CYS and later, Keystone Adolescent Center.
Angi always used to beg for a big sister but I said it was impossible because she and Robb were our first children. Years later when He brought Jennifer, who is a year older than our kids, into our family, I remembered her desire. How blessed we’ve been to have her and her family as part of ours.
And then, of course, there’s been our six awesome grandchildren. We had the privilege of providing before- and after-school childcare for Connor, the next to the youngest one, because God brought us to Greenville. And then there was Sarah, the youngest that came along after I’d been told, “We’re done, Mom. You’ll have to wait for the greats.” What great joy all our grandchildren have brought us. This youngest one, coming when the next youngest was 12 and a half, has been a special blessing because I was really missing this younger age.
I’m so thankful that even though circumstances deprived me of having more than two biological children to love, God had a plan to give me children to love in every season of my life in one way or another. He is never caught off guard if our plans are thwarted by circumstances beyond our control.
One of my favorite lines from The Sound of Music goes something like this: Reverend Mother to Maria, “God has given you a great capacity to love. Now we have to find out how He wants you to spend this love.” If God has given you a great capacity to love some particular group of people–children, the elderly, prison inmates, teenagers, etc. and it seems the door is closed to using it, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. If the gift is truly from Him, He will provide opportunities to use that gift even though it may not be in the way you had hoped or planned.
Father, your Word tells us “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights” (James 1:17). The capacity to love a particular group of people is an awesome gift. Help us recognize this gift and the opportunities you give us to use it.”
Featured photo: Me at about age 15 with the children of friends of my parents; Craig and Sarah, children of friends for whom I babysat in 1973 and 1978. (Funny how that name, Sarah, keeps popping up!)
