Don’t Underestimate A Visit

Don’t ever underestimate a visit.
Ever.
He sat at my table.
We drank tea.

Conversation flowed easily.
I laughed.
He shared about the things he has been doing and where he is headed.
Hopes and Dreams.
A path.
Unsure.
Yet ready.

All too soon it was time for him to go.
I don’t know when I’ll see him again.
You see, life has a way of taking our kids far from us.
New adventures.
The unknown.
Excitement.

This young man warmed my heart.
I’d been having a few down days.
Struggling.
Grief.
The loss of a child is hard.
Achingly so.
The holidays rear and the missing lurks in every aspect.
So, when this friend of our sons, texts to see if he can visit, I welcome the interruption.
This kind young man sits across from me and I welcome his tales of everyday life.
I laugh at his stories.
I wonder where God will lead his steps?
My heart is grateful.
Time.
Rare.
A commodity.
He’s only home for a short time.
He has family and friends.
Yet.
He sits at my farmhouse table and soothes my weary ache.

My son was here on this earth.
He had purpose and meaning while he was here.
And the reminders of seeing his friends is so wonderful.

I smile at the memories.

We don’t talk much about Elijah.
He sees the girls and how they have grown.
He knows, as I do, they do not remember much of their brother any more.
They were too little and the memory is growing thin.

I wonder,  as time passes. . . How many will remember?

My heart aches today.
I can’t get much done.
Tears freely flow.
I listen to a song that reminds me of hope and grace when the ache is so strong.

I step into the gift of a visit.
I am awed by God’s timing, again and again.

I can’t control time or the way things happen.
I don’t want to spend my time railing against the, “What could have beens.”

I am grateful for a visit, just when I needed it most.