Happy Birthday, Kyle!

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (Psalm 20:4-8 ESV).

Forrest Gump is waiting with Forrest Jr. for the school bus on little Forrest's first day of school in Greenbow, Alabama. The bus arrives and little Forrest is about to board it. Forrest says, “Forrest, don’t…” and he pauses. He continues and says, “I just wanted to tell you I love you.” Forrest Jr. smiles and replies, “I love you too, Dad.” It’s one of the great moments in the movie. Out of all the travail, that one moment seems to be the summary statement of his life. I have been blessed to have those moments with my sons. I wish I could honestly say that I planned for those moments, but that would be incorrect. Most of the time they were serendipitous. As I come to this birthday celebration for Kyle, who is forty-two today, I remember one such moment. We were on a ranch in Mason, Texas. We had been out that morning early to hunt. Kyle had harvested a nice buck and we had returned to the camp house to clean it and prepare it for transport for final butchering. I was getting ready to cook some eggs and bacon for late breakfast and discovered the propane tank was near empty. So, I got out the old grill and made a hot bed of coals to cook on. I fried the bacon and scrambled the eggs. We sat out on the steps of the old house serving as our camp house enjoying the food and the success of the hunt. I started to say something but hesitated; and, Kyle who was in his teens at the time merely said, “I know Dad. I love you too.” Nearly thirty years later I am still astounded that God has granted me all my plans. I am aware that not every parent has had such a protected and blessed life. There are many who have suffered rejection and pain in the rearing of their children. So, today I must say two things. First, thank you Kyle (and David and Aaron) for making my life so rich and full in so many ways. God has used you to bless me in ways I could’ve never dreamed possible. Second, to those who cannot say that, I pledge to pray for you and your family. The end of the story is known by God, though it has not been written in history yet. Trust Him for your children. With the psalmist I cry out, May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! Happy Birthday, Kyle!