Second Hug
04-05-2005 5:56 pm

Again, I have been a little tardy on keeping up on my column. My apologies. Things have been hectic with Mike Skupin from Survivor in town, Hell's Motives, and the schedules of the new church, The Shepherd's Fellowship and the store, The Shepherd's Nook. The end of October brought a little bit of a welcome down schedule from the man events. It was also the chance we needed to be able to take our son, Ryan to Walt Disney World.

Jenni and I are looking at the possibility of adopting and I wanted to get Ryan to Disney before we added a baby to the mix. We announced the trip to him last January and we have been waiting ever since. One thing you need to know about Ryan is he does not show a ton of excitement about things. He will ask questions here and there so you see it's on his mind but that's about it. The weekend before we left, he said "This week will go slow because I will be thinking about Disney." There you go! This was the most excitement from him that we saw.

We had a nice week. It was well worth it and we had a good time. It was also frustrating from time to time with the crowds and thinking through the spending budget. My poor wife even took ill for a day so Ryan and I had a guy's night out while she rested. Again, over all, a nice time.

However, one event made it more special to me than anything else. I did enjoy the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios, Downtown Disney, splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico and I survived Epcot but they did not make the top of the list. My favorite moment came after getting back to Ohio, getting the luggage off the carousel and fighting them to the car, and even after I took Ryan back to his mother's house. As I left his apartment, I heard the door open again. When I looked back, Ryan was walking my way as if he forgot something. When he got to me, he said he just wanted hug me again. We hugged goodbye in the house but he just felt the need to give me a second hug. It was then I remembered that more than the trip, it was the time and effort of that week that meant the most to him. He showed it in his second hug.

I share this with you because from time to time I get a glimpse of God through being a father myself. In all the business and frustrations of life, God just wants to spend a little time with Him. Focusing on Him, laughing with Him, being tired with Him, or just taking a walk focused on Him. While doing life with and for God is refreshing and a renewal for me, I wonder if it brings a tear to God's eye as well when we remember to come to him for no other reason than to give Him a second hug.