We heard that the drive-in, the one our family has frequented for years, had re-opened. Although it’s some distance from our home, my youngest and I decided to make the trek. Taking the long way, past farmland and the occasional weathered barn, our conversation flowed naturally, punctuated with laughter and a deepening heart-connection.
I cherish those long, slow hours alone with her.
When it comes to my kids and their life-choices, when it comes to the state of the world, there is always so much I want to share with them, ideas I want to discuss. But they are rarely willing to enter into a deep conversation that I start. Instead, I have to remain open to dialoguing on issues they initiate.
I am learning to wait for those moments, to be patient.
I am learning to listen more, to talk less.
I am learning that sometimes; I must release my concerns to His hands alone as He doesn’t always provide opportunity to speak of the things weighing on this mother’s heart.
But during this late spring drive there was abundance. We talked music, pop-culture, and life goals. We allowed for some hard conversations and I was grateful to hear her thoughts on current events.
At one point I said how sad I felt to realize that a person’s skin color can be a liability, that I think being female is also a liability at times.
“Yes, but everybody knows a girl,” responded my youngest. “Not everyone knows a person of color. People are aware of the struggles girls face, but not everyone realizes the discrimination people of color experience.”
I recognized the truth in her words and sat silent, absorbing it as our favorite lake came into view. Its shoreline encircled by trees of emerald, jade, and chartreus – a gorgeous diversity of conifers, their various shades of green displaying His glory.
And I couldn’t help but consider how His glory is also displayed in the diversity found in all of humanity, in the various shades of our human skin, as we were created in His likeness and bear His image.
I shared this with her and, though we don’t always see eye to eye, on this we agreed.
As we returned to the city, easing into our usual rhythms, our conversations began to subside. This is typical of our youngest, who prefers to chat during leisurely drives. But I felt encouraged by the insights she’d shared during our long, slow ride – evidence of the fact that God continues His unseen work in her heart, and in mine.
It is this fact – that His unseen work continued as Jesus lay dead in a darkened tomb, that it continues today to resurrect and purify our hearts, once dead and darkened by sin, which gives me hope for a future where the gorgeous diversity seen in His image-bearers is celebrated, valued and protected.
For the LORD takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation.
Psalm 149:4
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