I Promise, I’ll Come Back!
When I was a little girl, Dad often worked away from home. Sometimes he’d be gone for weeks at a time, but not once did we ever worry that he might not come home. We knew he’d come home because he told us he would.
Happy Birthday, Bobby!
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
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Taggies, Blankies and Bed-Buddies: It’s a Sleep-Over!
Jake and Matt are sleeping over tonight! As excited as they are, about 8pm their joy will turn to sorrow, and perhaps a few tears, if their taggies, blankies and bed-buddies aren’t here.
As soon as a sleepover is mentioned, Matty grabs his taggies and stuffs them in his back pack. He’s ready to go if his tags are packed, but he won’t leave home without them. The tags are precious to Matthew.
When Matty wakes up, he looks for his tags. When he gets out of bed, the tags are in his hand. He plays with them. He puts them in his trucks. He shares them – sometimes – for a moment. He carries them every place he goes. We often search for them. He definitely won’t go to sleep without his taggies.
Moses was a bit like that. He wasn’t worried about taggies, blankies and bed-buddies, but he wouldn’t go anywhere without God! When God told Moses to lead the Israelites into the wilderness, Moses said:
“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here… What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” – Exodus 33:15-16 NIV
Moses knew God must be with them every step of the way. God must lead. God must be present. God was Moses’ security, comfort and protection. God made a difference in Moses’ life and the lives of the Israelites.
Without God’s presence, the Israelites were no different than any other group of travelers in the desert. Only the Israelites had a God who led them, spoke to them, and protected them. Nothing distinguishes our lives from the millions of other lives on the planet if God is not with us. If God isn’t leading us, we are lost. If God isn’t protecting us, we’re doomed.
As a believer, God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, lives within you and is with you everywhere you go:
“For this is what the high and exalted One says – he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit.’” – Isaiah 57:15 NIV
Yet, how often are we willing to leave home without a thought of God? How often do we run off to work, school, the grocery, the neighbors, church, or even to Bible study, without asking Him to lead? God is with us, but do we allow His presence to mark us and distinguish us from the world?
Is God your comfort, guide, protection and security? Would you think of getting out of bed without first being comforted by God’s abiding presence? Do you consciously hold on to Him throughout the day? Do you talk about Him? Do you talk with Him? Do you share Him? Do you take Him every place you go? Does your relationship cause others to want to seek God?
One day the boys will give up their taggies, blankies and bed-buddies. Our prayer is that they will always hold tight to the God who loves them.
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“The Mom Award”
If you’re a mom, you’ve probably given yourself one or more, “Mom Awards”. You know the ones I mean: “Worst Mom of the Hour/Day/Week/Month/Year or Decade”; and the most despised: “Worst Mom of the Century”.
I have a closet full! There are days when I received all of them in one afternoon.
I’ll never forget one of the “Worst Mom” awards I received… I gave it to myself the winter before this family photo was taken.
In my defense… it was winter, and it’s not easy being a mom of preschoolers cooped up in the house for days. Danny had developed a habit of masterfully pushing Bobby down every time he saw Bobby standing still. I warned Danny: If you do that again, I’m going to push you!
Danny pushed. Bobby fell and started crying. I gave Danny the “you’re in for it now” look!
Immediately, Danny started to quickly back away, in stocking feet on a vinyl floor. I reached toward him, he lost his balance, slipped, fell and hit his head on the cabinet. He started crying. Bobby was still crying. And I sat down beside them, crying.
That night, sitting between Dan’s bed and Bob’s crib, still crying, I wrote them both a letter of apology in case they ever recalled this horrible day in therapy as adults. I still have the letters. Just in case.
There, it’s out there. I’m the worst mom ever. And, I have more stories I could tell…..
Guilt? Yes! Feeling like a failure? Yes! Like King David, I cried out to the Lord:
“My guilt overwhelms me – it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.” – Psalm 38:4-6 NLT
There is no way to remove the guilt. We may try to cover over it with kind acts – I probably made cookies for them later on, or let them watch their favorite TV show. I may have tried to ease my conscience by telling myself I was doing my best to be a good mom. I had to keep my word. I had to teach Danny right behavior. It was just a little bump. Barely nothing. And surely nothing in the grand scheme of things. And, while all of that was true, my heart ached because I had hurt my child by my own hand.
There was only one way to remove the guilt: Come to Jesus and confess the sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9NIV
“For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean…” – Hebrews 10:22 NLT
As a mom I’ve gotten really good, I think, at asking for forgiveness, both from the Lord and from the boys. Sometimes now, the boys will laugh at me when I bring up long ago events and ask for their forgiveness. It is worth the laughter because I love to dance in the freedom that comes with forgiveness.
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Happy Birthday!
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 
