God Loves Us Every Time

I recently told a friend that I was never an insecure person who worried much about what other people thought ... until my boy turned two and began having (and voicing) his opinions, becoming increasingly more energetic, and ... well, BOYish!

Photo credit: Jessica Ferris

This morning, we had a play date with friends at a local sand playground/splash park. B and I had a talk in the car on the way there about not throwing or kicking sand at other children, the etiquette of sharing toys, and obeying Mommy. When we got there, the playground was empty, and since A was asleep in the stroller, B and I enjoyed a rare half hour of play time, just the two of us. We built towers and he drove his Tonka truck around them.

But then other children showed up, and between the sand-kicking, the navigation of toy sharing, and one spiteful little girl (no one we knew), I really thought we were going to end up going home early.

Photo credit: our new friend, Tara

I am so glad we didn't.

Because at the end of our time there, he had made friends with a little boy named Samuel. The two of them ran around the splash pad, happy as can be, and they even took to standing in the middle of the biggest fountain when it was paused, holding one another around the waist to brace themselves against the strong spray of water. It was so cute, and I really wish I had gotten a photo.

I talked to Samuel's mom, and it turns out, her husband is the youth pastor at another friend's church. Small world. Would it be awkward to FB-stalk someone you just met, just because your little boy can't stop talking about his "new buddy I meeted today"? 

Because we got home quite a bit past B's regular nap time (and all the water/sun fun), B napped almost until dinner time. When he asked to go grocery shopping with me tonight, I said yes. N raised his eyebrows and said, "If you text me from the store, I'm just going to tell you I'm praying for you."

But B did amazingly. He sat quietly in the cart as I got my passport photo taken at the pharmacy. He didn't complain much after he got chewed up by a single mosquito as I was filling my car with gas. And as we were walking up and down the aisles at the grocery store, I realized that this is the first time that I've been alone with B since A was born. I had to restrain myself from giving him kisses every few minutes, just delighting in it being just us for a little while.

And then, as always, I was in the checkout line forever, because ... WIC.

The manager had to come and itemize everything, as I stood there and apologized repeatedly to the angel of a woman and her teenager daughter who had the misfortune of being in line behind me. She kept responding that it was okay. What mercy! Not only that, B sat quietly through the entire ordeal, other than informing me with increasing urgency that he needed to go potty. But he held it, and we rushed to the potty after we finally got checked out.

As I started up the car, the stress (and, let's be honest, embarrassment) from grocery shopping caught up to me, and tears fell. I tried to discreetly wipe them away, but my perceptive and compassionate little boy noticed from the back.

"It's okay, Mama. God loves us every time."

Oh, my heart.

"Yes, yes, He does, buddy."

"I love you a lot, Mommy. You feel better now?"

The Lord knew that I needed some extra tender moments with my own little boy after learning of little Ben Sauer's home-going to heaven yesterday.

And boy, did He deliver today.

Photo credit: Jessica Ferris :)