The Finch's Nest: Inspirational Stories: A Day With My Son

Monday, October 21, 2019

A Day With My Son

If there's one person I love spending time with, it's my son, Matt. He is the type of guy that has patience, understanding, a sweet disposition, and usually a lot of positivity. Yesterday we took a small trip to Living Treasures animal park, and then a state park in our area, Kooser.

Since we are both animal lovers, we took a lot of time at the animal park. We bought carrots and bagged, crunchy animal food. We had cameras ready and a beautiful day ahead of us. We stopped for lengthy visits with animals all over the park. And it was a good time of day because we were greeted by some very furry, very hungry creatures.

Our next stop at the state park was for picture-taking. It was then I noticed my son as if seeing him for the first time. How he lined up his camera shots perfectly. How he was never in a hurry to see the next thing, but was content to be in the moment, enjoying what visions awaited him through his camera lens.

In the hustle bustle of life, I am used to seeing people hurrying to the next thing and the next, eager to get their fix on the prize of the moment. Matt seems to want to live in the moment. I have seen his photographs in the past, some of which are almost prize-winning in my opinion. I'm grateful that he has an eye for beauty in nature. I'm thrilled that he has a heart for God's creatures.

Sometimes when we are together, we have long talks about this and that. And some days we are content to be quiet in the moment. Every mother has a sixth sense about their child though, and I realized something was bugging him after our day was over.

I wanted to fix everything he talked about. I wanted to say life is fair and everything turns out perfectly each day. But life isn't fair, and at times, it's less than perfect. But if there is one thing I can say to him, it would be: Don't change who you are through the bad times.

It's easy to get caught in a web of anger when we are in a bad spot. It's easy to almost have a personality change and become something or someone we aren't usually. But if we continue to smile through the rough patches, believe in the best, don't compromise our beliefs in bad moments, and keep a positive outlook when times are less than perfect, I believe we can chase away the old devil.

He runs from the good and just dances with glee when we are morose and bitter. Let's show him who's boss and Who we believe in--God and the good in humanity. Let's, as parents, pray for our children, calling favor, faith, and blessing over their lives. Let's not give in to fear and doubt, but let the moments that define us be ones of light, life, and the knowledge that we are in the Best hands!