Sixty years ago this weekend, you turned 18 – and what a year that was! In the spring, you graduated from High School and then you met the handsome young man who would sweep you off your feet and love you for the entire rest of his life.
Bobby, you were three or four months old, it was the middle of the night, you had just finished nursing, and as I got up from the rocking chair to lay you back in your crib, I caught our reflection in the mirror. There I stood, holding my precious little red-headed sleeping baby boy, and I didn’t want the moment to end.
I asked God to sear that image into my mind so that I could forever recall the joy of holding you, my darling son, in my arms. How gracious of God to answer, “Yes.” But He didn’t stop there; He’s given me many precious moments with you over the past thirty years that have become cherished memories.
I love to think of you as a baby. What a sweet baby you were. You slept, ate, smiled, and slept some more. Your smile was contagious. You brought joy to everyone. You were such a charmer! And you still are! You lived every moment to the fullest.
And, you played hard! Whether you were Batman, Robin Hood, a Ninja Turtle, or a Ghost Buster, you were always fighting the bad guys, and you always won. Your personality enabled you to make friends wherever we lived. You pushed yourself and excelled at everything you did, just as you still do.
Bobby, I loved watching you play baseball at GCHS. I still laugh that we pulled dents out of your car with a plunger. And I was so proud to watch you graduate from the U of I. You never did anything half-hearted.
And when I wasn’t looking you grew up! God led you to Jenny and you gave her your whole heart. Then God led you to Texas!
My birthday wish for you is that you will continue to follow God, wherever He leads.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21, NIV
Bobby, you are a man of integrity. Whatever you do, you give it your all. You love wholeheartedly, and you follow God wholeheartedly.
That reminds me of another night that God burned into my memory: August 8, 1995. You couldn’t sleep. When I came into your room, you said, “Mom, if I were to die tonight, would I go to heaven?”
You accepted Jesus as your Savior that night. Then you asked, “Mom, can I be sure?” and we read this verse together:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 8:38-39 NIV
Bobby, nothing can separate you from God’s love or mine. In His amazing grace, God knit our family together in a bond of love.
I am so privileged to be your mom!
Happy Birthday my precious son,
I love you,
Mom
Dad was an early riser, and every year during the Christmas Season, he’d get up early and turn on all the Christmas lights so that Mom would walk into a brightly lit and festive living room first thing in the morning.
Last week, mom decorated the tree by herself, and at the end of the day, she turned the lights off and went to bed. The next morning when mom got up, she walked into a dark living room. The tree was there, the lights were in place, but everything was still dark when she got up.
We don’t like the dark. Children are afraid of the dark. Bugs come out in the dark. Wickedness happens in the dark. And darkness signals the end of the day. For Mom, the darkness is a reminder that Dad is not there. It is empty in the dark.
When we were little, Dad would bundle us kids up and drive around for what seemed like hours just to look at Christmas lights. Mom didn’t usually go with us, I don’t know why, maybe it was too cold, but when we got home there would be lots of newly wrapped presents under the tree! How did that happen!?
However, throughout the years when it was just mom and dad, mom went on those drives with dad. They had their favorite neighborhoods and houses that they’d drive by and enjoy. One of mom kids will take her out this year.
Christmas lights are a great tradition, yet I wonder, why do we put lights up at Christmas? So I Googled: “Why do we put lights on Christmas Trees?” and an article said, “As Christians, we believe that God is the light of the world.”
By putting lights on our houses and trees, we are testifying to the world: I believe God is the light of the world, and I believe that God came down and lived among us. We are not simply decorating; we are proclaiming truth in a dark world.
John 1:1; 8:12 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)
At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of the eternal God in the Person of Jesus, who is the Light of the World.
Our Christmas lights shine forth for God because God calls each of His children to be light in the world; we are to let His light shine through us in our words and our deeds. Everything we do as Christians should be done to make God famous.
Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
During Dad’s final days in his body, he said to me, “If I survive this, my house is going to be a beacon for Jesus!” His body didn’t survive, but his soul did, he is brightly priaising Jesus in heaven today! And his house is shining also! The Christmas lights are on again this year, inside and out of Mom and Dad’s house as they always have been.
This year Dad is celebrating with Jesus in eternal light. We know this because Dad believed that God, in the Person of the Lord Jesus, left the glory of heaven, and being made in human likeness, lived a sinless life, humbled himself and died on a cross as Dad’s substitute — paying the penalty for Dad’s sins — and then he rose from the dead three days later, and now he is exalted in heaven as Lord over all!
Merry Christmas, Dad!
Daniel, it amazes me that you have grown into such a fine, Godly man. Not because I didn’t think you would, but because it just doesn’t seem like there’s been enough time.
How could you be all grown up? You were a baby just a few days ago. It seems like only yesterday you were getting your first haircut from Grandpa Lawrence’s barber, smiling on the bed, or splashing in the tub.
And, how can you be flying off to China on business, or driving yourself to St. Louis, when only recently you were modeling a toddler-size Cardinal’s T-shirt and cap? When did you learn to till and plant your own garden when we just watched you pull the petals off of Grandma Furrow’s flowers? And when did you get old enough to buy your own clothes?
Didn’t you just come home from a GCHS golf meet? Or drive in from NIU just in time to compete with Bobby and Dad in the Christmas cookie contest? And, when did you possibly get old enough to graduate from college?
How is it that you’ve lived long enough to fall head over heels in love with our beautiful Nicole, get married and have a family? How can your own sons be preschoolers?
I know all of this happened, because I lived it. But Dan, where did the time go?
Oh my son, if I could wish for you one thing on your birthday, it would be that time would slow down for you. For you to have all the time you want to enjoy every moment of your life; so that you can savor and pull every sweet drop out of every single minute – but it won’t. Life flies by so very quickly and we wonder: Where did it go?
Job 9:25 My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away…”
James 4:14 “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
I’m not able to give you this wish, but God has given you a much more beautiful and glorious gift: the gift of eternal life!
On January 24, 1988, when you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, at that moment, you received the promise and the assurance that you will not die.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Dan, the greatest privilege and responsibility a parent has is to introduce their children to Jesus. I’m so glad you’ve become friends with Him, because it is now your privilege and responsibility to introduce Him to Jake and Matty, and you are doing a wonderful job!
Time will fly, there’s no stopping it, but one day, when you look back and wonder where has it gone, don’t forget to look forward. This life is temporary, but the life to come will be never-ending! I’m so glad we will all be there together, forever.
Happy Birthday, Daniel,
I love you!
Mom
Marcia Furrow 