Saturday, September 15, 2007

Putting it all in perspective

I was up at 5:45 this morning to drive Christopher to the Starbucks near the Interstate... on the other side of town. He was meeting some other teens and parents from our church to attend a conference that the Harris family was giving today.

Besides fatigue, I awakened with the worst case of low blood sugar I can remember having and still being able to walk (as in EVER having). I tried everything, including sugar in my coffee, eating a banana, and eating crackers and that was before leaving the house. At Starbucks, I sipped a Grande' latte and ate a muffin while still having my hands shake (people Christopher was traveling with asked him what was wrong with me but he didn't have a clue, I guess they thought I was just loopy today).

Anyway, I was a little cranky from the whole experience as I parked near campus and walked to the bookstore. I once again passed students who were drunk (and it was not 8:00 am), men dressed in drag, many young people using the effe word in every sentence, lines of students waiting to have their ID checked to get in the bars, and trash... lots of trash on the streets... smelly trash.

I wondered what had happened to the town and university that I used to enjoy so much. It looks nothing like it did when I attended in the 70s, or when my husband began in the 1960s. It now looks like a scene from a bad movie.

Then my thoughts went back to my son and his friends who were going to hear a message for young people. The message included working hard and having faith, guarding who you choose as friends and mentors, and finding God's call on your life.

As I walked past the scene on campus, I no longer was upset at getting up at 5:45. It no longer mattered how I felt physically (I was already feeling better by that time). I thanked God and smiled because I could ask no better gift than a teenager who really wants to find and follow the call of Christ in his life. Somehow the sights and sounds around me put everything into a new perspective... and as I walked, I prayed for the young people around me.

6 comments:

Tammy said...

glad to know your day got better Brenda. Have a beautiful Sonday.

blessings

deb said...

Brenda ~ We are both blessed to have the kids we do, aren't we? Praise the Lord that He prompted you to pray for the campus kids. Seeing what you did will do wonders for our lists of things to be thankful for!

La Tea Dah said...

Thank God for godly sons! And how sad that some make choices like you described in your post. I'm sorry you were feeling poorly this morning --- but am so glad you were able to overcome. Low blood sugar attacks are not only uncomfortable, but scary! Stay well!

LaTeaDah

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you started feeling better - it must have been difficult to drive feeling as you did! So sad about the choices some of these young people make.

Manuela

Lisa said...

Sons like yours (and mine I hope, too) can change the world. Your little corner here changes it for the better.

Peggy Jo said...

You said
" I could ask no better gift than a teenager who really wants to find and follow the call of Christ in his life."

Amen! Oh, amen! We are so blessed!