We Gave Her Wings

When Kristal was in her late teens, she gave me a magnet that I had on my fridge until a few years ago. I wish I could find it now, because I don’t remember the exact words . . . only that they had something to do with giving her wings . . . and the whole idea of letting go.

The test came when we dropped her off at Bible College in Portland. On the way down she was sitting in the back, with her legs stretched out and resting between our two front seats. I took her feet and held them for a while, remembering the tiny imprints the nurse made in her baby book. What happened to the girl who used to scream when we dropped her off at the church nursery?  In spite of the fact that, at seventeen, she was quite sure of herself, I could not help but still see her as our little girl. We helped set her up as comfortably as possible and then got back in our car ... where I let my tears flow.

A few years later, unsure of where her life was heading, she expressed her longtime desire to attend Azusa Pacific University. Realizing how strong this desire was, we encouraged her to try out for a scholarship and see how we could make it work. The next Fall the three of us were headed down the I-5 again. This time a little farther south. It was no easier than the trips before had been, but we knew it was a wonderful school for her.

As the story goes . . . it did not take long for a certain American boy to notice that she was different and special, of course. He wooed himself into our lives too and before they graduated they were married.

I’m sighing big-time. Somehow I was blindsided. It was Julene who was making plans to go overseas and the reality that both daughters would be living out of country was hitting hard. I cried lots . . . fighting with the Lord for allowing this to happen. . . . but in the end He gave me enough happiness and sadness to allow me to see His grace at work.

In the past thirteen years, including our first trip to Oregon, we got into a nice pattern of small visits. Holidays, weddings, a funeral, a baptism, babies, vacations . . . there were lots of reasons to go down . . . and for Kristal or the family to come up. Never did I feel like she lost interest in family here . . . and Shaun always encouraged her to go, if she needed to. Her heart was here with us in many ways, for which I’ve been grateful, even though, numerous times, she said that she would likely never move back.

That is, until a couple of months ago. It would seem that the place they loved was not to become their forever place after all. And after the number of moves they have made because of the nature of Shaun’s job, they began to talk about wanting this to end and not to keep moving further away from family. The locations they talked about kept moving closer to Abbotsford, and finally . . .

. . . here we are. Awaiting her return . . . the girl that left as one . . . coming home with a husband and three kids. I’ve been mulling it over for a few months now and it still seems so surreal!

No one knows the number of times I’ve dreamed of picking up grandchildren at their school and taking them home for cookies and milk, or the times I’ve watched the children sing at church and imagined a certain little girl or boy in the group. No one knows the times my daughter called, crying, because a child was sick . . . and she was tired . . . and I could not help.

A place is ready for them and hopefully a job soon too. Our lives will change, I know, and I pray for grace for all of us in this learning curve that begins a new season.

I’ll be in Colorado this week, helping with whatever I can do to help and in a few weeks, the Lord willing, we’ll be picking them up at the airport in Vancouver.