The Proof Is In The Pudding!

Good Monday everyone!  I have great expectations of good reports from each of your weekends!  We had a good Saturday and Sunday also.  I have to report that we have seen gradually but progressive improvement in my wife’s adjustment to the stronger medication that she has been taking.  Today has been the best day yet.  She arose easily, had a good breakfast and we took a morning walk around the lake in the middle of our little community.

Say, I wanted to share a couple more things about our daughter’s wedding in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago, before I move on to new ground.  Last night I spoke with JoAnna for about an hour.  It was the first extended conversation that we have had since they returned from their honeymoon.  We spent the majority of the time reviewing all the events before, during and after the wedding ceremony.  As I mentioned last week, the special day climaxed in a BBQ with the immediate family , JoAnna, Jeremiah and some of their closest friends.

JoAnna and I spent a good amount of time talking about how we felt as we walked down the aisle.  She mentioned that she thought that she would be extremely nervous, and had pre-decided to just focus in on Jeremiah as he stood on the platform with the Pastor.  Instead, as we stepped out of the back room and began our walk, we were both immediately brought into a subtle peace as we were taken in by all the happy, smiling faces that were gazing our way.  To me it felt like we were surrounded by close and encouraging family and friends within the comfortable surroundings of our home.  JoAnna said that she just wanted to stop at every row and individually thank each of the people for coming!

Another set of thoughts that ran through my consciousness during that short walk up the aisle with my little girl, was that from this point on, life for JoAnna would begin a whole new phase, while the last phase of her life was coming to an end.  It was not a feeling of loss or fear though.  It was a content vision that started when she was born around 3:00 am in the morning on that wonderful day in May of 1989, progressed through the Homeschool years, the Christian school band that we were connected with, ballet, church drama skits, playing in both the youth and adult  worship bands, attending Bible school with me, and then recently when she lived on her own while attending the third year School of Worship program at Rhema Bible College and grew in her blooming relationship with Jeremiah.

That very familiar scripture in the book of Proverbs that I am sure that every Christian parent depends on, which states: “Train up a child in the way he (or she) should go: and when he (or she) is old, he (or she) will not depart from it.”  (Proverbs 22:6 King James Version) shot right up to the forefront of my thoughts as I pronounced the opening prayer at the wedding ceremony and then sat down with my lovely wife.  Over the years, there have been a few individuals who have questioned the way that we raised our children and also felt that our excursion to Oklahoma a few years back was a large mistake.  As I partook of that ceremony between our daughter and her godly husband to be, I had to laugh at their unfounded concerns.  As the saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” which simply means that “something has to be experienced or utilized in order to prove how good it is” (For more info on this phrase see: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=the%20proof%20is%20in%20the%20pudding)

As I witnessed the union of our daughter and Jeremiah, I could not have be more content with, and more sure of the positive nature of our family’s past, as well as with the amazing patience and faithfulness of God as He has guided us through the last 36 years. JoAnna has grown into a confident, intelligent young women who is very sensitive and obedient to the leadings of her Heavenly Father.  As I proudly sat on that chair in the youth room at Destiny Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, I could only envision a bright and prosperous future for Jeremiah and JoAnna Irvin.

Parents, let me encourage you to never let go of the plans, pursuits and dreams that you have for your children.  Listen to the Lord, do your best and then leave the rest to Him!  There will always be naysayers who may disagree with the path that you believe the Lord has directed you to take your family on.  Remember though, that your responsibility is to the Lord and to your kids, not to someone who is not walking in your shoes.  The final proof will be in the fruit that develops in your children’s lives.  Fulfill your responsibilities as the gardener who trims, guides and supports their growth and them sit back and enjoy the harvest when it is time for them to leave the family home.  Stay tuned and keep asking yourselves… “What GREAT Things am I expecting today?”