Merry Christmas from 2TheHeart!
"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there's room in our hearts for Jesus." ~Unknown
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2TheHeart will be off for Christmas and your next story will arrive December 27th. I pray that your holiday is blessed and peace-filled.
"Coming Of Age"
By Susan Farr Fahncke
Today my oldest son turned fifteen. It seems to be a landmark age - part way between grown-up and a boy. When I awoke this morning, he was already up, and I sat quietly as he got ready for school and remembered fifteen years ago.
After twelve hours of labor, they placed this amazing creature in my arms. All nine pounds, one and a half ounces of blue eyes and chubby. My baby boy stared steadily up at me, with complete trust and I was terrified. God entrusted me with this little life and I was so fearful I wouldn't live up to His expectations, wouldn't honor that trust. I looked down at this bundle that was the future and wondered what he would be like. I imagined the road ahead of me and prayed for wisdom. We made a pact that day, he and I. Best friends forever.
I watched as he ate his breakfast fifteen years after that sweetest, most precious day. He is now several inches taller than me and is all elbows and big feet. I grin as I watch the milk dribble down his chin and he wipes it with his sleeve, as he has for fifteen years. Part of him is still little boy.
I have granted him an afternoon reprieve from the mountain of homework he has accumulated. It's his birthday, after all. I wonder what he will do. Probably skateboard or play Nintendo with his friends. He scoots out the door with a "Love you, Mom" and I wish him a great birthday. He barely hears me and is off into a huge morning blizzard, tromping through snow up to his knees. So much for skateboarding.
He wished for a car for his birthday. He wants an old classic car that needs work. He has this dream of re-building it with his dad. Even an old junker was too much for me, but he never said a word about his disappointment. That's the way he is. Sometimes his kindness is beyond the realm of ordinary and exceeds even amazing. He's a great kid. He has his moments of rebellion and mouthiness that make me feel as though my head will shoot off, but overall, he is awesome.
I think back to when I was fifteen. Only yesterday. Maybe the day before, but definitely not twenty-one years ago! Nick is a thousand times wiser, kinder and more selfless than I ever was those teenage years. We always hope our kids will turn out just a little bit better than we did, but I can already see in Nick this miraculous leap that is far beyond a little bit better.
As the day progresses, he gets phone calls, birthday cards, and email from so many people who think he's wonderful. And he is. He is remarkable. I have watched as, time after time, he has stepped beyond the typical teen stereotype and set a higher standard for himself. He has been kind when he sees others hurting. He has been forgiving when I have neglected our 'best friends' pact. He has a gentle, protective love especially for animals. Compassion seems to be his special Gift. And at such a young and tumultuous age, he has already discovered this gift. His sensitivity to his deaf brother?s isolation at times has brought tears to my eyes as he brings Noah along with his friends, intruding on Nick's own "hang-out" time, but you wouldn't know it from Nick. Noah, at four years old, is a part of the gang.
Nick goes to church, sometimes alone. He is an example to so many people. Scripture study and prayer are a part of his daily life, and he often reminds me to stay on track too.
This afternoon, with the snow completely covering the car, the path - everything, he cheerfully dropped off his backpack and, despite the freezing temperature and near-blizzard conditions still, he got the snowblower out and got to work. Even after burning huge blisters onto his fingertips from the engine, he kept on going without a break. He grinned at me through the window as I watched in wonder as this half man/half child of mine put a kindness for his family before his own wants. On his fifteenth birthday.
I left him to his own devices after that and he and his buddy, Patrick, made plans to earn gobs of cash with the snowblower all afternoon. I left for the store as he was doing a freebie for a neighbor's yard first. I smiled as I thought about his choice to spend his birthday afternoon working hard to earn money for school clothes and Christmas presents.
After not seeing Nick for a few hours, darkness had long since fallen and I was worried at not having seen the two boys. Taking a drive through the blanketed-in-white neighborhood of ours, I began to see almost every single walkway, driveway and front pathway clean and tidily plowed. "Wow - they must have loads of cash!" I thought. They've done just about every house in the neighborhood.
They finally came home for birthday pizza and I excitedly told them how proud I was at their hard work. I told Nick I'd take him clothes shopping the next day. He'd been wanting more clothes for so long. Nick's face lit up - not crumpled with sadness, but actually lit up, as he told me that had not collected a dime for their work.
"We did it as a service project" Patrick declared proudly. They went on to tell of the elderly people who were unable to get out of their homes and would have been trapped had the boys not cleared the way for them. Wow. Not a lot of fifteen and fourteen year-olds would spend the first free afternoon in weeks to do service for their neighbors. Tears burned my eyes and I looked away so Nick wouldn't be embarrassed. I doubt if he even knows the magnitude of this huge act of kindness performed on the afternoon of his fifteenth birthday. It seems to me this is as close to a "coming of age" ritual as I could think of for a boy transitioning into a young man.
Today, I saw in him strength, integrity, goodness, a Christ-like service for his neighbors. He will remember this day as he puts it as... "fun". Sometimes teenagers can simplify things into the purest of definitions. After all, service usually is fun, and that warm, satisfied feeling one gets from it, can really be described as "fun". I like it. It fits. But coming from a fifteen-year old, with a skateboard permanently attached to his foot, and glow-in-the-dark spikey hairdo, it's more like a small miracle on a snowy unforgettable November day.
Today my son began the move into manhood, with a not-so-small step. He used the time which was a gift to him, and made it into HIS gift to others. In my book, that makes him a hero. A very extraordinary teenage hero. I love that kid.
I am the creator of 2TheHeart and a busy freelance writer. My book "Angel's Legacy" was recently released as well as "Whispers From Heaven for the Christmas Spirit", which I co-authored. I also have new stories in "Chocolate for a Woman's Dreams", "A Cup of Comfort", and "More God Allows U-Turns".
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2THEHEART BIRTHDAY CLUB!
Happy Birthday to:
Send them birthday greetings!
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The Letter Box:
Shelia
Your story was beautiful...Traveling into some of the most indigent area's of my city, doing home health nursing, I have found some of the greatest blessings in my life....the people I have met and cared for.... A reminder to us all, that goodness resides inside of us, not in our wallets....Jesus was a simple man too...after all...
~Sandra Smith
Dear Sheila,
I was so moved by your story today. It reminded me this holiday time to look beyond the outside of a person and see the inner light and that each of us is a child of God.
~Maria
2TheHeart,
"Woman of Faith" reminded me of a lady who attends our church faithfully. She is very poor, with worn clothes and a book bag that has seen better days, but her faith is radiant. She sings every hymn with fervor and prayers more sincerely than most people I know. Her heart is made of gold and she reminds me that happiness and Godliness are entirely on the inside.
~Margaret Stimpson
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