Hello, All! I guess THAT subject heading got your attention! haha! Well, let me just go ahead and tell you that I'm fixing to write a LONG e-mail so you can delete it NOW or SAVE it for later or go to my journal and read it b/c I'm also going to post it there (Journal address at bottom of this e-mail!)...It is 1:48 A.M. and I am wide awake! I wanted to tell everyone the latest FRY news. To some , when you read it in a minute, you're going to think one of two thoughts! "AWESOME NEWS"! Others, (like I was at first), will say: "OH NO!" So, now you're dying to know?! Well, here goes. Patrick told us on Tuesday night some rather shocking news! He said, and I quote, "Mom/Dad(Brothers and sisters), I have some wonderful and exciting news! I've joined the NAVY!" Well,if you know me well, you know it wasn't "great and exciting news" for ME! You might say I freaked out at the "great and exciting news"! It was on Natalie's birthday night (Tuesday) and for those of you to whom I sent the b'day pix, this announcement was made RIGHT AFTER I made the pix!!! (Poor Natalie, her birthday turned into a CRY-FEST!). Yes, we are surprised (I guess you could say !) over this turn of events! For the first 48 hours I spent sobbing my heart out! Yes, I "Wigged out" as Kemp says! I cried and cried and CRIED. More like SOBBED! I honestly think Terry would've started building an ark if I hadn't finally quit crying! But, having said that, the tears have finally ceased ,as has my acceptance of this news, but it was several days before I can say that I accepted it.....Let me back up a bit .(I told you this would be a long e-mail!) let me fill you in a bit about Pat. Many of you know that he was engaged last summer. He moved to Destin and was working at the big Sports place there and Stefanie (his girlfriend), moved there too.Soon , after, they were engaged. To make a long story short, the engagement was called off almost immediately. They were both smart enough to realize it wasn't the right thing, that they could not enter a marriage together. It was a very difficult and hard time for Pat. He was miserable, wanted to move back and come home. He did and moved back downstairs at Nat/Brad's (where he had livedpreviously) in their downstairs apartment. He was kind of in limbo, started a new job, e tc. and we could tell he wasn't that "gung ho" with his new job, but he was doing o.k. Right before he met Stefanie, he had wanted to go into the Navy, this was 2 years ago. Once again,we all freaked out about it. None of us wanted him to go, we talked him out of it. Then, he had that terrible wreck a year ago and hurt his back and it was just a miracle he wasn't killed. I knew that God still had lots planned for our "baby" boy.But what? then he moved to Destin, moved back. Looking back on it, I just wonder if I got in the way of God's plan for Patrick? I was so upset about him leaving and going to the Navy then! I just wonder if it was my meddling with God's plans that sent Patrick on the road to meeting Stefanie and moving to Destin and even having the wreck. I was so sure that God didn't want my son to leave! (Yes, you could say, I try to tell GOD what to do sometimes and I BEGGED God NOT to let Pat go to the Navy 2 years ago!) I'll never know, at least until I get to heaven, if my meddling and begging God messed up what God wanted originally? I don't know.I do know that Patrick wasn't really happy after he changed his mind about the Navy then. Anyway, back to the present. A couple of weeks ago , I hear Patrick was running and getting into shape and he called one day after running at HHS track and he seemed so happy. So like the "old Patrick" that we love. Happy and laughing and "fit as a fiddle". He looked great and seemed much happier and full of life. Little did I know that he was working out hard so that he could "make weight" for the Navy. The little sneak even lied to Nat/Brad and told them he was going hunting when, instead, he was going to Montgomery to sign up! (and the part I hadn't written till now---FOR SIX YEARS!!!!) .....First let me say how proud I am that my son will be part of the United States Military. Now when I watch the news on T.V. of boys/men overseas I will understand much more how their families are feeling and their pride in their men. I can only imagine how happy we will be to go to his graduation from Basic Training and watch him develop his skills that he already has, towards helping others through "search and rescue". I also will be more involved over who I vote for , for President, because I don't want my son to ever be in Harm's Way! But, I am proud of him. Proud because he has made this decision all on his own. Yes, I am still devastated that he is leaving. I will cry more and lots of days! Patrick is our baby boy, only a year and a half older than Katie and he and Katie are extremely close. Also, Natalie and Brad (and KEMP and now Daisy!) are even closer to him than anyone b/c he lives with them. It will be very traumatic for Kemp when his "Pat Pat" leaves. It will be traumatic for all of us.....When I was having a true melt down yesterday (or is it now DAY before yesterday?!), Terry was there for me like a rock. He was so calm, so loving and so wise. He told me that this is what God has planned for Patrick. I have to tell you that Terry prays every single morning for all of our kids around 5 A.M.! He gets up, goes and prays for them. This is not something that he does pridefully, he does it because he is compelled to do it. I can't tell you how many times I have walked in before the sun rises and he is sitting right on this couch beside me, reading and praying. He prays for over an hour, for each one of our kids/grandkids. He said he has REALLY been praying for Patrick lately b/c he knew that Patrick wasn't happy and that he felt that Patrick needed what ONLY the Navy can provide him. A good education/ discipline and a great future. It won't be an easy road to those things, however! He has to go to Basic Training and he'll be in "Search and Rescue", an intense training in Maine .But, he will be stationed in Pensacola! So, that's great news! (at least for awhile, he'll be close by!). the main thing I have to remember is: this is what he wants to do. ...This has been a strange week. On Saturday night, Rick Burgess' son drowned. Because everyone knows him from the radio and everyone feels they know him personally, it has affected soooooooo many people in town (for those who are out of town, go to RickandBubba.com and read about what happened and be SURE and listen to his testimony!). I cried when I heard it on Sunday. Little did I know that I would be crying myself for a totally different reason on Tuesday night. Not to in ANY way compare Patrick's leaving with the death of little Bronner, I still felt connected even more to Rick's testimony when he talked about losing his son. It was almost freaky to me b/c I was crying for a totally different reason, but yet, it was my blonde baby boy leaving,too. In his testimony, at his own son's funeral, he said that Bronner wasn't only HIS child, he was also GOD'S child. THat hit me like a ton of bricks. Patrick isn't mine. He's GOD'S child. He was given to me and Terry, to raise and we have done that. He is 24 years old and it's time for us, mostly ME, to let him go. REALLY let him go. I remember when he left for Destin, how sad I was. Sad, because I never felt like that was what he was supposed to do. I cried then too, but for a different reason. I felt Pat was lost and looking for something that he didn't even know what he was looking FOR. I have 5 kids, that certainly doesn't make me an expert on child raising, but we have done a pretty good job letting our children grow and decide what they want to do with their lives. Trying to encourage them but not stifle them. I have failed them in the past and I will in the future, I'm sure! But the ONE thing I have tried to do is teach them to lean on Jesus no matter what. To go to church, YES (and I must brag here and say ALL of our children go to church, faithfully), but not just go on Sundays, to have a RELATIONSHIP with Him. That's the difference. My kids have seen me on my knees in tears many times. yes, they've seen me in tears, but they've also seen me on my knees. They know that I can't do anything on my own. I don't try to. I wouldn't have made it the past few days without the support of Terry and my leaning on the "everlasting arms". Our family is not perfect, we don't claim to be. But we love each other. We might not always agree on everything but despite differences in ages and personalities the bottom line is our love and faith in God (and each other). Last year was rough. Pat had his wreck; Rachel lost her dad; Pat was engaged and just as quickly it was broken off; Powell came too early. Then there was the GOOD news. Katie and Jon got engaged; Daisy and Powell were born healthy and IsaiahSixEight began. I'm sure each one reading this has had ups/downs in their families as well. The reason I'm writing all this is b/c I want everyone to know b/c I still want YOUR prayers for Patrick and for our whole family! Right now, it's hard for me, as a mom to even think about telling Patrick good-bye on April 9th. It will be a dark day for all of us who love Pat b/c we will MISS him! ...The MAIN reason Iam writing this (thank GOD for e-mails!) is that 1. it's easier than me calling and telling everyone (Plus, I still cry when I tell it, right BOBBIE?!) and 2. to give you some chance to tell Pat good-bye!! Terry and I talked about what we wanted to do for Patrick. Poor Patrick, he is the number 4 child of 5 whose birthday is just horrible (Dec.30th!!!), never had big party b/c everyone is burned out after Christmas, plus we had enough kids in the family to always have our own parties! HAHA! Anyway, we wanted to do something special for Patrick. So, on Palm Sunday, after church, I have reserved "The WEll" room at RiverchaseUMC for a luncheon after church and also a "good bye" to him, most importantly . We want to celebrate PATRICK for a change! We also feel strongly that we want to PRAY for him and are asking Jim and Jack to please come and pray for him with us after lunch. To let Patrick know we SUPPORT him; LOVE him and will continue to PRAY for him and not forget him as he goes to serve our country. On another note, Daisy is going to be baptized that Sunday, too, so it will definitely be a day of joy and celebration (and a few tears!). And if there are any "NATALIE GROUPIES" out there, YES, she is going to SING a special baptism song for Daisy (and most probably it will be sung to Pat, too!). It should be a wonderful day and I know that I can let him go if he is PRAYED FOR and SENT OFF with blessings and hugs from those who love him. If you got this e-mail and you don't even KNOW Pat (but know ME and Terry), then just please, PRAY for him and us . ALL of us. We'll all be dealing with letting him go. Also, if you can't come to Pat's lunch,(I know it's Palm Sunday and most folks want to go to their own worship services that day), then please, send me a card to give him that day! He'll love that! He can read them before he leaves. WE WOULD LOVE FOR ANYONE/EVERYONE TO COME (but if you do, just let me know so I can order food accordingly!)
I'm sorry this is so long, but I just had to go ahead and write and tell it b/c it is really on my heart (I couldn't sleep!) and I want everyone to know that I am totally at peace with it now. One of the stories , again, about Rick Burgess was that when they went to tell Rick (He was at a big revival in Gatlinburg and was actually SPEAKING when he got the news), the first thing he said was, "It is well with my soul". Imagine that. He just heardhis baby son had died and he said, "it is well". If Rick can say those words and his baby is now in heaven, I surely can say "It is well" and my son IS here, just leaving for a time. Another thing that hit me like a ton of bricks was Brad. Here my precious son-in-law is , family all in Australia, and he never complains about missing his mom or family, even on the happiest day of his life: when his babies were born. When Daisy was born, 6 weeks ago, as soon as she was delivered, he got the phone and called his mom. He broke down in tears as he held his baby girl and DESCRIBED her to his mother, knowing she couldn't be there with him physically. He sobbed as we all did. This precious, loving, faith filled man: Our precious son-in-law, only sees his own mother every year or two! I can't even imagine how Ashley must feel every single day. And to have her newest grand-daughter so very far away , wanting nothing more than to come and visit her and her son and grandson. When she's here (she was here this time last year), she cried almost immediately and said, "only 3 more weeks!" almost the minute she arrived she was dreading leaving. It seem so unfair that people have to leave and say good-bye. And yet, that is part of life. Ashley faces it everyday! Selfishly, I forget sometimes how hard it must be on a daily basis for Brad not being near his family. His brother/sister-in-law/new nephew/his sister and uncles and cousins that he loves and is so close to. It made me realize, AGAIN, how blessed we are to have Brad and his family and how he can help ME, too! What a witness that man is to me. Now more than ever. And I know he will understand my feelings probably more than anyone else I know....
Now that you're tired of reading this NOVEL, I will finally stop and GO TO BED (It's 3:09 A.M.). I know that when Laura gets here in 3 hours I will have to tell her about HER PATRICK and WE'LL CRY TOGETHER! But, that's o.k., too! Another thing Rick said in his wonderful testimony was, "I can weep b/c our Savior wept with us". How true is that.......
It is well.
Blessings, Joy and love to all of you!
Jan xxoo
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