She’s the last patient of the day at my father’s medical practice and she’s pregnant with her first child. She’s polite. She nods in our direction. And she’s about to leave when my dad says, “you have to meet my daughter, Lisa-Jo.”
She stops on a dime and her beautiful face breaks into a mile wide grin as she reaches for my hands to enfold in her own along with her words, “I can’t believe I’m meeting you. I’ve been coming to your dad since I was in high school and now I’m married and having my first baby. He’s been telling me about you all these years.”
Suddenly I’m the one holding tight to her hands and grinning big and crazy right there in the middle of his waiting room.
It’s the same smile and the same tight hands that keep greeting me at the orphanages where we’ve visited every time I tell someone I’m Wanda’s daughter.
People stop what they’re doing and reach out for me and I know they’re trying to hold onto a part of the wonder that my parents bring into their worlds.
I know because I’ve watched the work they do and witnessed the changes they are part of with the most matter-of-fact presumption that anyone who saw what they’ve seen would simply do the same.
And to be around them is to begin to believe that’s true.
I am thirty-seven and I feel now more than ever that I want to be like my parents when I grow up.
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Wow. All of your post make me teary-eye with happiness. What a blessing you’ve been given Lisa-Jo to have such a Godly legacy.
Blessings to your family and you. Oh, and by the way, while tearing up with happy tears when reading your posts … I also smile.
I agree with Angela, what a beautiful legacy your parents are leaving! I love those picture too.
Your parents sound like absolutely wonderful people.
What journey God has blessed you with. It has been so good to see all the smiles that seem to stretch from east to west. What an enriching trip it has been for your whole family. Clearly these words are written from an overflowing heart. How good God is.
Yes – I believe that’s just the way it works Lisa-Jo. They are truly remarkable. I feel such joy for all of you. Praying the moments stretch into hours and that you enjoy every single one of them.
:)
Goosebumps, Lisa-Jo. Such a legacy.
Okay, now this one just caught me right in the solar plexus. Tears brim and I pray, “May my own say the same about us, Lord.” Oh, that they would see the love of Jesus in us and the work of our hands as holy. If I’d had one more kid, that one would be about your age (my youngest is 39), so this one hit home hard. What a deep well you draw from, Lisa-Jo. And what lovely sips of that pure, clear water you’ve offered to all of us awaiting your return on this side of the globe. Blessings as you continue to relish this reunion and oh! – so many prayers as you have to say good-bye yet again.
So many years, I didn’t see it, I couldn’t say it…
and yet now, truly, I see the tender, refining, hard & gentle Hand of God in my parents. How my mom is ever seeking, ever pressing into Christ’s truth, never content to settle or sit in complacency. Oh, that I would be the same when I grow up!
And to be a worthy example to my own children…
What a beautiful legacy your parents are leaving to you! I can’t wait to hear more about the rest of your trip!
Love,
Jessica
What a legacy! Usually when people know my parents, its because my dad is famous/infamous in our town. Not for his service to the Lord. Someday, I pray…
Your parents seem truly amazing, and I can see why you’d want to be like them when you grow up. And from the heart you convey in your writing, I’d say you’re getting pretty darned close.
“I’ve watched the work they do and witnessed the changes they are part of with the most matter-of-fact presumption that anyone who saw what they’ve seen would simply do the same.”
That right there is what real life humility looks like. Thank you for sharing them with all of us Lisa-Jo.
Yeah! I get this.
I.
Really.
Do.
Lovely!
This is totally random … but do I see one of your kids wearing an Auburn shirt? I’m a huge Auburn fan! Loving your posts from South Africa. I lived there for five months and I’ve never quite gotten over it.
– Brooke
Wow – good eye! And YES – that is an Auburn shirt. But we inherited it from a cousin – so are not first hand fans :) However, since Micah is mad about animals he wears it all the time because he loves the tiger on it :)