IT TAKES A VILLAGE
"Maybe Hillary Clinton was right," our daughter Jennifer said as I cuddled her baby boy, her two-year-old daughter playing nearby with cousins. "It takes a village. We need each other. Why can't we all live in the same town? And in the same neighborhood?"
Living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jennifer makes twice-a-year-trips to see us instead of the three or more she made before her children were born. And though we try to make yearly trips down there, we all wish we could see each other more often.
But we cope via daily phone calls and emails and pictures in emails. Many of our phone conversations are about the Lord and what she's reading in the Bible or vice versa.
How refreshing!
I'm thankful for the spiritual heritage our family has. I'm thankful that our village has the touch of God upon it. I'm thankful we can call on the Lord anytime we need to, that He's always there, listening and caring.
Monday night, we were all in the family room, and after an unpleasant phone call between the the first-grader and his father, he began crying about his family situation. A divorce has forced him to have two homes where he's shuttled back and forth, and he was crying about his loneliness "over there." I thought his little heart would burst, and I thought my heart would burst. I tried talking with him and comforting him, to no avail. The tears flowed down his cheeks like the gully-washers we have here in Florida.
Pray with him, the Lord seemed to whisper to me. Have him kneel and call out to Me. Tell him about The Comforter.
And so we knelt in front of the ottoman, and a holy hush fell across the room, and I did what I felt God was telling me to do. I told him that the Lord was with him wherever he went, that when he felt lonely, the Holy Spirit would be there to comfort him. I told him when he was at his other home and felt all alone, he should just speak to God as if He was right there in the same room with him--because He was, that God was everywhere. I told him God cared about him and loved him and would make him feel better.
On and on I talked, giving him words of comfort and cheer and life then praying with and for him.
Soon, the tears dried up, and he had a smile, and my heart was lifted too.
Yes, Hillary Clinton was right. It does take a village. A godly one.
posted by Kristy Dykes @ 6:03 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Yes, it certainly does. My life is much easier when the grandparents are in town, sharing in the care of my sons. And I certainly miss being there for my nieces and nephews.
On another note, as much as I love Hilary, I hate that she gets credit for this saying. It actually stems from an African proverb and has been repeated in the African-American community long before Hiliary made it part of universal vernacular. You probably already know that but not all of your readers may be aware.
Thanks for that reminder, Patricia. Yes, you're right. It's an African proverb. And it's so true. What a blessing when children have family and extended family to rely on and draw strength from.
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