"As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; / [ . . . ] Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: / Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; / Selves -- goes itself; 'myself' it speaks and spells, / Crying 'What I do is me; for that I came'." --Gerard Manley Hopkins

04 September 2006

My Son, My Protector

My oldest son is heading overseas soon to none of us knows where for none of us knows how long. If we wish to write, we can send mail to his wife, who can take it to the base, where they will see it gets to him. I thought this would be not a big deal, but when I emailed him a kind of "farewell for now" note today, my heart constricted.

I will pray for his safety, of course; I'm his mother. But more than that, I will pray for a mission effectively completed -- because that is what is important to him. That is why he is going to wherever it is, doing whatever it is, and placing himself in harm's way. He knows the risks, and he chooses to take them because the cause for which he works is far bigger than any one of us. I wonder if this is just the tiniest taste of what Mary may have felt in knowing her Son as her Saviour? My son is my protector now, a protector of our country. I can no longer protect him, but only uphold him in prayer and let him know how grateful I am.

I am proud of him -- proud of his choices, proud of his character that has made him be chosen for the work he does, proud of the man he has become.

5 comments:

Lucindyl said...

He has become a man very worthy of respect, someone I think a great deal of, and I join you in your gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices he's making.

I think you know my brother, although I'm sure the specific jobs are different, occasionally gets calls like this and heads out to parts unknown and unknowable for indeterminate amounts of time. Sometimes he's able to tell us a little bit after it's all over, sometimes not. I assume it's the same for J. Blessings on them, Abba's hand over them.

GrumpyTeacher1 said...

Indeed. Where would we be without young people willing to put themselves in harm's way for the sake of the rest of us?

Beth Impson said...

Thank you both. He says he will be perfectly safe. Hm. I don't doubt what he told me he'll be doing, but where, I ask, is our military safe these days, especially overseas? Blessings and protection for your brother, too; I think of him often.

Fieldfleur said...

Beth,
Wow, understandable worry. I pray that he's protected.

Take care,
Teri

Anonymous said...

I think you give me a little too much credit...

Just doing my job, and I'll be on email every now and then while I'm gone.

Thanks for your prayers.

Love ya...

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