ALMOST MISSING IT

Last Friday evening Caleb (our 6 year old son) and I made a loop to visit several of the places where Hispanics live in the area to touch base with them about the Encuentro (Gathering) that was held Saturday.

We stopped at Hyacinth and visited with Salvador, Jose and Abraham. Then we drove into Callao and visited with Felipe and several of his friends who were gathered around, after running into Carlos as he was pulling out of the parking lot. Then we drove to Lottsburg and visited with Cecilia, who got back from Mexico week before last and had a terrible time in Atlanta's airport.

As we were leaving Cecilia's, I realized I'd left the calling card that Cecilio, one of the guys at White Stone, had asked me to pick up for him. We drove back to the house and I ran over to the other car, grabbed the card, and climbed back into the van and we headed down Rt 3. We got to White Stone, and saw Mundo and Cecilio and Oscar and Gumaro and Lazaro ... had a good though short visit with them.

As we pulled away from the plant, we'd gotten a little ways down the road when Caleb, who was sitting in the seat directly behind me (on his booster seat), said "Daddy, I want to be just like you when I grow up."

I swallowed. Hard.

"Thanks, Caleb, but what do you mean?"

"Well, like, your hair and your skin ... well ... not your skin, 'cause that's different from me and you, but ... the way you are ... the things you do ... the way you are with people ... just stuff like that."

"Thanks Caleb, that means a lot to me. That was very kind of you to say."

If you've never heard "Lord, I Want To Be Just Like You", by Phillips, Craig & Dean, find it and listen to it.

However you feel about God, it gets to you when your child says 'I want to be just like you' ...

On some level, it is frightening. He is watching me. I am modeling for him (and his brother and sister) what it means to be ... a father, a husband, a brother, a son ... above all, a Christ-follower ... so I don't do this alone. I can't.

Grace & Peace