My Daughter's in the Congo














Sounds kind of romantic doesn't it? To her mother... not so much. She's kind of worried. I'm not really so much worried as I am unsorted (best adjective I could come up with) with thoughts of this 20-yr-old kid -- my kid -- who's been to 3 airports, I think, in a day or so and she's still not done. She's in Amsterdam as we speak. That's not why I'm unsorted in my head and in my heart.

I keep having these pictures of a little kid (my kid) in my mind. One of them is of a 3-yr-old sitting in a car-seat in our '86 Jetta asking me some pretty interesting questions like:

"Do you have a girl-friend?"
ME: "Ya, Mommy's my girl-friend."
EMILY: No, Mommy's your wife. Do you have a girl-friend?"
ME: "Mommy's my wife and my girl-friend."
EMILY: "Daddy..."
ME: "What?"
EMILY: "Put your seat-belt on."
ME: "Okay."

Flashbacks like this one are mixed with thoughts of this young adult kid (my kid) finding her way in the world.

I hope she has a great, enriched, blessed time in the Congo. And safe. Very safe. I also can't wait for her to finally be back. She's been gone since September '09. She's visited regularly, but won't be back long-term until the middle of June. Well, "long-term" as in a couple of months before she goes back to Waterloo, but we'll take it!

I have some thoughts about the middle of June. They primarily involve Starbucks and Sushi with the little kid who's no longer a little kid. She'll always be my daughter, but she's become a really good friend now too.

I love you Emily.

Faja


Comments

  1. Matt_SarahMay 8, 2010 at 10:09 PM

    Well put Rocco! (Love the name by the way!). So I can relate to your fond memories of your daughter with one difference. Mine is only 7 and we are just having these conversations. Just today she came downstairs with her duvet cover on her head calling "Daddy, I'm stuck, I'm stuck..." Translation: Come play with me. I tickled her to death.

    Anyway, I just want to say that I too have enjoyed getting to know Emily. She is a great girl with very deep heart. She will be swept away by the children I think. My thoughts for her include her being given the opportunity to really come face to face with God's plan for her. Don't we wish that for our children?

    I will be praying for her. And I do feel a certain amount of responsibility for her going to Congo (although God takes most of the blame for that). So don't tell her mother!

    Blessings,

    Matt Peters
    Access Ministries, Glencairn Church

    ReplyDelete

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