It is a wise father that knows his own children

William Shakespeare

Knee deep in strawberry jam, the phone rang. Chuck called to see what we needed to put around the garden to keep the rabbits from eating all the green beans. I stared blankly out the back window toward the garden. Eva was playing happily outside with her friend who had come over for the day. I wondered why this conversation was relevant now, but Chuck seemed to think we needed to solve the garden problem immediately. Charlotte was in the playroom occupying herself with some toys she was wrapping for her imaginary friends. Tyson was hanging on my leg, whining for milk, while he repeated, “Mom, mom, mom mom,” until he started singing it in one long tone, “Moooomm.”

Still nodding my head to Chuck’s comments on the phone, I smashed my strawberries down in the pot and gave them a stir. With the kitchen window cracked,, I could hear the girls laughing outside as they played, and only half of what Chuck was asking me registered. Charlotte meandered into the kitchen, oblivious to the scene, and asked innocently if I could go into the attic and get some Christmas wrapping paper so she could wrap her toy. “Mom” continued to be sung from Tyson’s musical abilities, who was still wrapped around my leg. My patience was close to matching the boiling point of my strawberries. Chuck commented, “It sounds like you have a lot going on. I am going to call you back later.” “No, don’t hang up,” I begged. He laughed, “You can handle it,” were his closing remarks. Little did he know my only need was the sound of his steady voice.

At two years old, Tyson can hear the sound of tools, the weed eater, and the lawnmower better than anyone. He races to find what project his daddy is working on next. Watching Chuck pull the dishwasher out to find the leak behind it, Tyson came sailing around the corner with his tiny flashlight. He lay on his tummy next to his Daddy and peered behind the cabinets as if he, too, were solving the mystery of the leak. Tyson only needed, to be near his daddy.

Pulling in to an Amish residence to pick up our produce, I take Tyson out of his car seat. He looks around at all the farm animals and horse and buggy. Catching the eye of some Amish men and women walking by he points and yells, “Look Mom. It’s Mary and Joseph!”

Holding the brake while the truck was in neutral, I could see beads of sweat begin to drip off of Chuck's forehead. “I don’t think this is a good idea. You’re going to have to push uphill in the driveway, Chuck.” “I know it.” He grunted as he began to push. I sat there shaking my head as the truck rolled back down with each inch of his progress. “It would help me if you would hold the brake when I make some progress.” “Right,” I confirmed, quickly assuming my rightful position as brake manager for the old Ford pickup truck. Sometimes there isn’t much assistance or advice I can offer. It was my ability to hold the break that he needed most.

Tyson was hollering from the other room. He needed me to come help him with whatever he was toying with. I was busy washing dishes when I heard, “Got it.” I stopped what I was doing and bolted, “Got what? What do you got? No, No, No! Get that out of the electrical socket!” There are times when my only need is to know where my children are and yet, it doesn’t take very long before they are gone again. Looking for Tyson at church after bible study one afternoon, I thought he was with Eva, and Eva thought he was with me. I found him in the ladies' bathroom. He was naked from the waist down. Shoes, pants, and his diaper were strewn all over the bathroom; tissue from the stalls was unrolled throughout the stalls. I gasped in amazement, wondering how Tyson could have accomplished so much in so little time. On the way home, I contemplated how I would explain the event to Chuck. The more I thought, the more I was convinced. This was a need-to-know situation, and he didn’t need to know anything about this incident.

For his birthday, Chuck received a new wallet. The kids were so excited to give it to him. They had picked it out special. I heard him quietly sit down with them in the living room. He opened his old wallet and took out a well-worn, wallet-sized picture of the kids. He said, "There is no place in this new wallet for pictures. I need a wallet that has a place to put my picture. I stayed behind the wall listening, knowing, in that moment, he was all they needed.

Watching the kids play in the summer heat and chase fireflies at night brings a certain calm to the otherwise eventful days. With Ruth, our new lamb addition, added pleasure comes from watching the kids pick grass and flower petals as an evening snack. I once asked Chuck how it felt to know the family and household needs ultimately rode on his shoulders. I waited. Then he said, “I didn’t know it was a feeling.” It left me smiling in the stillness of the evening. Thinking to myself – we are his only need.

And my God will supply all your need according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19