~By Debbie Christopher
There are many types of bumps we hit as we maneuver along our life’s journey. Some are pretty big potholes that require serious repairs from the Master Mechanic. Some bumpy roads seem to go on for miles, and we long for smooth roads ahead. Then, there are those roads that appear to be bumpy, for the moment, yet when we look back, we tend to laugh at the memories.
One such memorable occasion occurred 18 years ago this week when our first grandchild made his CA…RA…ZY appearance into this world 5 weeks early. To share the details would go way beyond my preferred word limit, so suffice it to say, yes, it was indeed crazy! (Those readers who remember that day, will agree.)
To simply set the stage…and allow your imagination to fill in the details…consider the scenario.
Mom was out of town four hours to the east making her last weekend trip to visit her sister before her doctor ‘grounded’ her. Dad was out of town five hours west playing in a weekend basketball tournament.
Yeah, you guessed it!!
Papa, Aunt Sha, and I made it to the hospital in what could be considered ‘illegal’ record time. Dad, through details only God could orchestrate, caught a last minute flight, and we all arrived in time. What a ride!
Our sweet baby boy arrived safely as well, and our hearts were blessed…and smitten.
He has grown from our sweet baby boy to sweet boy…to little man…to E-man…to E…to Ethan (when no nickname was needed)…to sweet young man…to…to MAN?!...ok, sweet man...
He loves his Lord, his family, his grandparents, his aunts, uncles, and cousins, …his girlfriend (Yep, that happened too!), his golf clubs…and, of course, the Cowboys and the Cubs.
One of our favorite family conversations is to retell the story of that night back in 2004—a ‘bumpy’ trip that we will always remember.
In honor of Ethan, I wanted to take a moment to share the following.
In a recent ladies’ Bible study we were asked to read Psalm 88 as part of the weekly ‘homework’. This particular Psalm could be considered a ‘dark’ Psalm that reviewed discouraging events in Jewish history. The last verse even states, “…darkness is my only friend.” WOW! This left me quite downhearted. But, the beginning of Psalm 89 caught my eye. Psalm 89 was written by Ethan the Ezrahite—HM?
So, I read it. Ethan the Ezrahite started out with these words:
“I will sing about the Lord’s faithful love forever; I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations with my mouth.”
Psalms 89:1 HCSB
He continued this theme throughout the entire Psalm. While Psalm 88 left me downhearted, Psalm 89, in Grandma Debbie’s imagination, left me joyous (and teary-eyed). I prayed, right then, “Lord, let this be true of our Ethan. May he continue to sing the praises of God’s faithful love…forever.”
Happy Birthday, Ethan! You will always be our sweet baby boy!
~Grandma Debbie
Yes, fun memories!! ❤ 💙