Living in the There and Then

People ask me all the time here in Brazil and even there in the USA, when are you retiring to be with your grandchildren?  Goodness, what a loaded question?  If I say, Never, people will think I don't even love or care about my three grandbabes and one grandcat.  If I say, tomorrow, some will think my missionary call is rather vague and limited.

What a toss-up?  Do I love my babes and my stateside grandcat?  Well, yes!  What sort of a horrid question is that!  Do I think about them and pray for them every day?  Yup!  Would I like to live next-door and enjoy their presence on a regular basis?  You bet!  Even the cat!

So when are you going?  Haha!  When my work in Brazil is done, that's going to be my new answer.  

In the mean time, I pray.  I write real letters.  I send gifts.  I make short trips.  I send little messages.  I make video letters.  I plan for furloughs.  But I can't spend every day pining for what is not in the THERE of the USA and the THEN of some future visit.

Some may ask if the kids understand?  The little might not, but I think he will learn as the others to sense they are loved albeit from afar.  The cat is patiently waiting for me to come back and load her up on  Friskies treats.

And I can be thankful for some who stand in the gap for me!  Thank you, Aunt Kerri and Uncle William.  Thank you, Uncle Greyson.  Thank you, Mimsy and Daddy Potter.  Thank you, Granny Atha.  Thank you, Grandma and Grandaddy Beckner, and quite a few others who go out of there way to make these babes feel well loved like Aunt Lori and Uncle Andy, Uncle James and Grandma and Grandad Jackson.

And while I wait for the next travel date, I'll live just a little in the THERE and THEN thinking about all of you.

It seems many missionaries these days all over the world are leaving their fields of service to be near family.  Our day may very well come when being close to our parents is much needed.  We hope and pray that we may make decisions that are God-honoring and family-beneficial at the same time.

Trying to live in the here and now!