Donn and I take a walk almost every night after supper, weather permitting. I think I mentioned before that we changed our route after my surgery since I didn’t have the stamina to walk up the hills of our former route.

Over the past six months or so, we often crossed paths with a little girl riding her bike. More recently there was another little girl with her. A month or two ago, they were out riding their bikes when Sarah was walking with us, and they rode with us as we walked. It turned out one of them was seven in July and the other will be eight later in August. Both are near Sarah’s age.

A few weeks ago, we had the longest talk with them we’ve ever had and discovered the two girls are sisters. We also learned that their Mama passed away a number of years ago. I thought it would be great if they could play with Sarah sometime because her Daddy died several years ago, too, and it would be good for her to know some other kids who had lost someone.

H said they were telling their father’s partner about us, and she couldn’t figure out who we were. I said, “We’ll stop in some time and introduce ourselves. Would you like us to stop this evening?” E said, “No, they’re probably busy with the twins. They have six-month-old twins!” She went on to tell us their house number so that we could stop in some other time.

Then H started turning cartwheels and doing gymnastics. It was like déjà vu of when we met Beth* a few years ago on our walk. She’d run out to meet us and show us her various gymnastics’ moves.

I told E and H about Beth and that we are still friends now that she’s thirteen, and she still comes to visit us sometimes. I showed them where our house is which is only a little over a block from theirs.

One of the girls said, “You mean we could come to your house and knock on your door if we want to visit you?”

“As long as your parents know where you are and it’s okay with them.”

I also explained that even though I’m home, sometimes I’m working because I’m a writer.

So this evening when we were walking, we stopped at their house to introduce ourselves to their parents. I couldn’t believe it when the door opened, and I recognized the woman who opened the door. She also recognized me.

I said, “I know who you are!” It was a young woman who used to work at the Walmart Pharmacy where we get our prescriptions filled.

We had a nice conversation and she said as long as the girls tell her where they are, it’s okay for them to come see us. She really has her hands full with twin girls and a not-quite-two-year-old boy, in addition to E and H and an older boy.

As we prepared to leave, I said, “We live just around the corner…” (and gave her our house number). “If there’s ever anything we can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask. We know what it’s like to have twins, and we love kids.”

This is the second time God has put twins and an older child (in this case older children) in our path. Those twins live in another town now with their grandmother (I believe the older child is in foster care), but we still stop in occasionally to see them—teenagers now! 

 A few minutes after I finished writing this part of my blog, the doorbell rang. It was H, come to pay me a visit! She asked, “Is this a writing day?”

I said, “Yes, but I haven’t seen you for a while, so I’m going to take a break so we can chat!”

Their parents prefer that they not go into peoples’ houses, so we had a wonderful conversation on the porch. She also showed me a lot of her cheerleading cheers. When I was ready to go back to work, she asked if she could show Donn some of her cheers—she had heard him in the garage! He said she could play basketball since he was nearby to watch her.

How thankful I am that God continues to bring children into our lives when we are well past the age of having our own and how He keeps reminding us how important they are to Him.

Father, help us never to forget that children are just as important to you as grownups. Continue to give us opportunities to shower these little ones with the love of Jesus. Amen.

*Name changed.

(The featured picture is a picture of me with the children of friends of my parents–Robbie and his sister, whose name I don’t remember. I have always loved children even when I was barely more than a child myself.)