Where r u? Does this question look familiar?
It should! Many times you've read it in a text message, surrounded
by a caption bubble, sent to your phone from your one and only Dad. It
was always sent out in triplicate—one to you, one to your brother and one to
me. The game was on, the game of "Who would respond the
quickest?" This was your father’s way of keeping track of those he
loves. Well, this morning I saw him staring for an unusually long time at
your message board. Remember the large cork board we put up in the
kitchen to hold images of you and your mission experiences, so as to never have
you far from our daily lives? It is covered with memories of you (family
photos, a postcard and words of inspiration). Well, back to your dad
standing in front of it, staring in contemplation. I asked him,
"What are you thinking?" He solemnly continued his gaze
at the images and then focused his eyes at a sketch you had drawn of a map of
the world on the back of a postcard. With a wishful desire to know the
answer to his question, in a low voice he asked simply, "Where r
u?" He knows you are on the opposite side of the world. He
even knows the exact location of your whereabouts because months earlier we
used a computer mapping program to see a satellite view of the mission training
home and its surrounding neighborhoods. He knows you are in good keeping
with the Lord on this journey. He also knows that you are with dozens of
other young men and women whose hearts are turned to the beautiful people of
South Africa. What he doesn't know is "How r u?" For 19
years we have been able to walk into your room, pick up a phone to talk to you
or just chat across a kitchen table. Those conversations, some short and
sweet (some not so sweet), yet others deep and philosophical, always gave light
to the question "How r u?"
My son, "How r u?" Are you
happy in your work? Are you pushing your abilities to learn and grow?
Are you homesick? Are you getting along well with your new found friends?
I know these questions are spoken seemingly to a young child
from a doting and concerned parent, but maybe that is the default condition of
a parent's mind once they have journeyed the course with their child. I
will always see you in a learning state, so forgive me if I wish to be the
teacher at times. I no longer hold a child who has scraped his knees, nor
do I wipe the tears from the dusty face of a little boy who's gotten in a
scuffle with a friend.
Instead, there is a sweet understanding of
the importance for you to be away from home and involved in something much
greater than yourself. The tapestry you now weave is that of selflessness
and hard work, with an eye focused toward Heaven for direction rather than from
your earthly parents. We only ask the question ‘Where r u?" as
a metaphor of where you are in spirit rather than location. For I
know that as we stare at your image posted on a message board hanging from the
kitchen wall, you can only be with us in spirit. So, we anxiously
yet patiently wait to hear "where u r."
Love, Mom
Love, Mom
