The best parts of life always seem to end with a truck

This is what it looks like. I always wondered. My oldest son is one of my best friends. I am really blessed that way. My youngest son is one of my best friends too. So is my daughter. But my oldest son is the one that moved away yesterday. Well, actually he moved away eleven months ago when he became a volunteer intern at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. The key word in that sentence is "volunteer." Because volunteers eventually come home. Everybody has to earn a living and so you can only donate your time for so long.

But what happens if you do such a good job donating your time that they decide they want you to stay and they decide to pay you to do so? Well. Then you see a truck drive away from your house much like the one in the picture above.

You know, I raised him for this. Same thing with his siblings. This was the purpose. There is a picture hanging in my hallway that has been stationed by my kids bedroom doors for over two decades. It portrays a dad, freshly home from work and still sporting his button down shirt and loosened tie. He is kneeling beside his childs bed and he is praying. I am that dad. I have done that more times than I can count. The tie does not apply though because most of my bedside praying took place during the middle of the night. I would wake up and do the dad thing ... making the rounds of the house, assuring that all is well. And then I would creep into three bedrooms and pray over the little bodies in the beds.

It worked. They all turned out great. No complaints. Their ages range from twenty-six to twenty-two. The fresh "mover" is twenty-four. It was time for him to go. He is taking a bride in July. As a pastor I get to perform the ceremony. That'll be an honor ... a hard one but an honor.

So tonight I was home alone and I walked into the freshly emptied room. A few odds and ends (things that didn't make the cut) still remain on his floor and in his closet. I looked them over. They have him all over them. Nothing in there is just "stuff." It's all things that he loved once upon a time. But I found something else in his room. It was a perfect portrayal of the way I feel tonight. I found our family dog, Bailey the Killer Beagle, all curled up on the floor ... right where his bed used to be. That is where Bailey would often sleep during the day when Scott was away at Willow. And today when she went in there ... his stuff was gone. She did the only thing she knew to do. She curled up where she has curled up so many times before and she tried her best to feel at home there. I can't help but wonder what she was dreaming.

Please do not misunderstand. I am so very glad it has all worked out this way. He is off serving God in the place where he was "called" to serve. And that is where I want him. Still, it does not make that room any less empty. Bailey? She only knows he is gone. The rest of us know where and why. And it makes all of the difference in the world.



So if you are out there reading this, son, know that your dad is glad you are right where you are. The empty bedroom will be filled with other things soon enough. But I will never forget the times I knelt quietly beside your bed and asked God to do in you exactly what He has done. I didn't realize then that it would leave an empty hole in my heart. But I look at it this way. We have eternity to spend together. So I guess I can accept and even find joy in the fact that you are off in the world serving King Jesus for a few decades. Expect to have some great days. Expect to get beat up a few times too. I know that you understand exactly what I mean. But never forget ... NEVER ... that those prayers are constantly being heard by your Father that is bigger than I. They ring in His ears. They echo in His heart. And He promises to complete in you the work He has begun.

Bailey? She will be fine. So will your mom and dad. Topher will be off soon to Centrifuge. Kelli has made a wonderful life for herself, her husband, and her baby girl. On top of that she serves on staff at another great church. Your mom and I went "three for three" when it comes to our kids. What more could we ask for? All of you leave holes when you are gone that no person or no thing can fill. Ever. But I would not have it any other way.

I love you. I am proud of you. The three of you validate the time I have spent on this planet. If it ends tomorrow ... it was well worth it. The title of this blog? "I wasted time and now doth time waste me?" It is a lie. William Shakespeare said it and it fit well in his play. But for me? No time has been wasted. Not one minute.

You are proof of that.