special moments

Years ago I heard the Christian author/pastor, Charles Swindoll, tell the story of asking his adult son what "times" he remembers most from his childhood.  The son told him one of his most memorable occasions was a day when he was playing football in the cold, wind, and rain.  His team was way behind (no chance of catching up) and most of the "stands" were empty.  But he said he looked up and there was his mom and dad, still in the "stands" cheering him on.  This, the son said, was indeed a special moment.  Well this past month my son and his mom had a similar experience...

Last month my son, John, participated (along with others from Youth and Family Services of El Reno) in the 911 Memorial Marathon (held in OKC).  The run was held on Sunday morning and began quite early.  John was going to run an 8 mile portion of the race, and his mom wanted to be there to cheer him on.  I told her there would be thousands of people, it will be difficult to find parking, she might not be able to get a good spot along the "route" to see him, chances are that they would never make "eye contact" as he ran by; still she was undeterred.  She got up at 4:00 am to drive 1 1/2 hrs to OKC and try to find a spot along the course where she could see him run by.  But, to make matters worse, on Saturday night her phone died - she would be unable to use her camera!  So, she took my phone, which she really didn't know how to use.  But in spite of all of these obstacles, God was at work...

Kristi made a safe drive to OKC, found a parking space, found a place along the route and waited for John to run by.  She had even prepared a sign to wave to help get his attention.  But as he approached, she realized that she couldn't get the "phone and camera settings" open to take a picture!  After all of that John simply ran by.  Undeterred, she jump in her car and drove several miles ahead on the route; jumped out and ran to the side of the road and prepared to try once again.  However, she again had difficulty with the phone.  This time, however, John came running by; saw his mom and what was happening, ran over to the side of the rode, pulled out his own phone and took a "selfie" of the two of them.  Believe me, it was a. moment to remember.

I truly believe that God was at working orchestrating this special moment for the two of them.  It is, no doubt, a moment they will remember for the rest of their lives.  Special moments can be shared with any of our family members or friends; but as we approach Mother's Day I know that this was indeed a very special moment for a young man and his mom!