I recently attended an annual Garden Festival and noticed some pretty amazing things!!Flowers, vegetables and every imaginable green growing plant was there. It was a fantastic way to motivate me with my own plants.
While I was there I noticed some other growing things too.Let me back up a bit though- I picked up my father in law from his assisted living facility. He always enjoyed gardening so I figured he would enjoy this outing .He was thrilled when I picked him up and we chatted all the way to the coliseum.
Once there Luke met us after spending the night in Lake Charles with a friend. Actually as I drove up to the handicap entrance and started the arduous task of unloading the wheel chair and getting it to the car door and....you get the idea~ Luke appeared and with no hesitation took over and got his Paw Paw out for me. What was a tangled awkward event for me seemed so easy for him!!!
Once parked I found them both waiting for me inside . As I attempted to take over the wheelchair driving, Luke stood firm and said,"I'll push him ,Mom."
So, control freak that I can be, I had to tell him HOW to push him....I realized how unnecessary that was when I saw them several yards away laughing and cutting up together!
As we started browsing the greenery and lush plants they got farther and farther away. I was glad since it appeared to have annoyed everyone there that we were trying to push a wheelchair through- it was very crowded!!! Once laden with a healthy dose of self-guilt for enjoying my browsing alone, I located the wheelchair party and attempted to take over for Luke. Again he said,"Mom- I have him. We're having a great time. Just go look and leave us alone. "
I was stunned that Luke wasn't relieved to see me and turn over the awkward task. I stood watching them as they wriggled into the crowd smiling and talking.
I realized that this boy had become a tall, responsible young man when I wasn't looking.. It wasn't his stature or foot size that made me realize it- it was his compassion and sense of responsibility toward his aging paw paw.
Luke is the youngest of all Jack's grandchildren and has only known his paw paw during his declining years. He wasn't the recipient of all the big vacations,ice cream trips, special gifts and birthday surprises. He has seen the dr visits,emergency room trips,decline from walking to wheelchair and many other ills of old age- and yet here he was joyfuly serving his Pawpaw!!!
The rest of the day would have been chaos if I had been arguing with an unruly, sulking teenager to help out- but it wasn't.
We took Pawpaw to the cemetary to visit his wife's grave and then on to my niece's to meet her new baby boy,Tyler.
Each time, Luke loaded and unloaded Jack with the greatest of ease and not the slightest hint of dissatisfaction! Amazing!!!
Finally to top off the day we stopped at Sonic for lunch!
Since I was in the backseat , Luke and Jack in the front were almost unaware of me- they laughed and played around making jokes and being silly.
I was amazed how Luke allowed his pawpaw to maintain his dignity as a Man, even though he couldnt understand a word he said!! He knew when to laugh and when to just be quiet and when to horse around!
A sure sign of maturity!
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4 comments:
Yep, that's my boy. He's a goodun.
What a testimony of a great God and great parenting. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into what a Godly young man looks like!
yup...he's a good guy! Im so proud of him..he does alot of "behind the scenes" work that a lot of people never see and he has really developed a servants heart... GOOD job boy!
Every time I look at pictures or talk to Luke on the phone I am reminded that he is growing even while we are not there in LA. I guess this was a reminder of the fact that he maturing as well. I am really excited about our visit in a week and a half. I can't beleive it has been a year since we have seen you guys
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