Life Lessons

Spring is here and with it we've had some temperature fluctuations as we navigate through wet days and those filled with sunshine.

Saturday was the latter - sunny and warm with interludes of cloud cover. Baseball games were in the morning and early afternoon. We had no responsibilities for the evening. It was wonderful to relax and select what we could do around the house while the boys played together.

After playing with their remote control cars, Jeter and Barber wanted to ride bikes. I needed to take care of laundry and some preparations for MIA so I went inside. Simms was cutting the lawn out front with a manual mower so we were set.

While I was working I felt impressed to pray for my boys. I wondered why He was inviting me to pray but followed the prompting and began to thank God for the blessing of their lives. I thanked him for the day that we were sharing together as a family. I prayed for their health and safety - that they would continue to be guarded and protected and then prayed the scripture "...no weapon formed against them would prosper..." I then just continued to talk with my Father about this and that.

Less then five minutes later I heard two things simultaneously - Simms crying out Jeter's name and the sound of a vehicles brakes coming to a quick stop.

The vehicle was a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a very responsible alert driver - who thankfully was not speeding through our development in the first place. Regardless, he had to slam on his brakes because Jeter biked into the street from the neighbors driveway and didn't see him. There were two cars parked past the driveway that are not normally there and therefore his view was obstructed and he didn't adapt his typical routine to verify the path was safe and clear. A lesson that he has certainly learned.

The driver just wanted to make sure our son was okay. Simms says there was less then four feet between Jeter and the front of the vehicle. Shaken and under his Daddy's direction, Jeter ran over to the driver and apologized for his actions and told him he was okay.

Life lessons aren't always easy to learn. Sometimes we get shaken up in the process. Even so, the lessons are necessary.

Jeter now understands that he needs to be certain that the road is clear before entering (and the newly adapted rule of coming to a full stop before entering the street will help him as well). LOL. I am thankful for a Father who cares so much and continue to recognize and trust the power of prayer.

There are many things that I continue to pray for - still not seeing results. Yet my faith has increased once again this weekend. Jeter's safety is evidence to me that He cares about the little things. How much more does He care about the big stuff? I continue to press in for the big things - trusting Him with the details.