Mountain Top

Standing at Lover's Leap near the Parkway on this day in October of 2014 , I considered just how far we had come.  And I wondered how much farther we'd have to go.  That day we had convinced Dalton to go with us to the annual Sunday School picnic at Rocky Knob with our home church, Emmanuel Baptist.  I couldn't believe that he had agreed to go.  Actually I was overjoyed and once again hopeful that maybe we could enjoy a good family time and somehow reach out to the heart of our wanderer.

That day was cold and windy, but the guys did spend some time throwing around a football and Dalton did participate.  Everything wasn't perfect about the time together but it was good enough.  I prayed all the way down the road that God would somehow turn my boy around and bring him back into the fold of our family.  I felt scarred and tired of the battle we had been facing for months.  I prayed for an end - a good end.

A few weeks later, we wanted to take another drive on the Parkway to see the last good autumn leaves on the mountains before they all fell to the ground.  It was a school day.  We were  fairly certain that Dalton had been skipping most days of school inspite of the fact that he would leave the house on time for school and may well have taken advantage of the free breakfast at the high school before going down to his favorite hangout place.  So we announced the opportunity to skip school with dignity and even an official note to the teacher from us, the parents.  Gone Driving!  Please excuse my son.

This time Dalton didn't take the bait and refused to go.  We left at the crack of dawn to take full advantage of all the day light we could and left Dalton in his warm bed with the alarm set to get up in time for school.  And off we went. 

What does a parent do in situations like this?  Let the whole family suffer because one refuses to go?  We decided to enjoy the day and worked hard to do so.  I had some misgivings but threw my whole heart in and took lots of pictures.  I even huffed and puffed up to the top of Mount Mitchell in a cool wind.  I enjoyed some quality time with my youngest and my husband.  I was anxious towards the end of our trip.  I began to worry about Dalton at home, or rather if he was at home.
Thankfully when we called at a set time,
Dalton answered and when we arrived he was safe and sound.

It was a good day.  I'm thankful today as we celebrate Greyson's 15th birthday for that time with our youngest.  Thankful for the handmade reed flute we bought at a folk art center along the way.  Thankful for the leading hand of God all along the way.

Keep working, God, and keep on guiding and helping us.
Heal our wounded hearts and bring our boy back.

This post was inspired in part by the Never Once song by the One Sonic Society...