Another New Chapter in Life

Sarah, Rebecca and Josh

Its funny how when the kids were little, I always knew there would always be a "next phase", in life.  The first smile, then cooing, first teeth, first steps, potty training, even first days of school, etc.. As a young mom, I never really thought much beyond those early "firsts". 

I knew that somewhere, out there, were the "teenage" years. But they seemed forever away. Frankly, I had always prayed the, "rapture before puberty", prayer thinking that maybe we would skip those years. Clearly, that did not happen. Then, I tried forbidding them to turn 13. They ALL disobeyed me and turned 13 anyways. So, we ushered in the teenage years. 

The first two were a little harder, simply because of our learning curve. Now we are into the teenage phase with the second two and it seems to be going a little easier. I think mostly because we know, a little better, what to expect.

Wouldn't you think that would be an end of the new phases? Noooooo! Then comes the, "growing up and moving away", phase. I would tell you about all of that, but that would take forever. I want to fast forward to the, "Mom, I met someone" phase.

One of the things I have not yet mentioned about Peter's homecoming was that exact statement. (Don't worry, he has given me permission to tell this story.) Shortly, after we met Peter at the airport and we had exchanged some small talk and made a rest stop, he said, "Mom, I met someone and I think you are really going to like her". 

Now first, let me explain a little bit about Peter. Throughout junior high and high school, Peter had many friends, many of them girls. He even had several "crushes". Some of them serious enough to talk to us about, but never a serious girl friend. He laughed at his friends that had one girlfriend after another. He told of how several of his friends that had girl friends long enough to spend a bunch of money on them, only to have them dump or be dumped.

So, when he came home saying that, "he had met someone", we knew this could be serious. All the way home from Amarillo, he told us about Rebecca. Of course, as the mom, I had a million questions for him. (No surprise there) The first question was, of course, her walk with the Lord.

"She's a Christian, mom, she loves the Lord very much". He went on to tell us of her generosity, her kindness, of course of her beauty and of her compassion. She sounded wonderful, but you know, as a mom, the proof is in the pudding. 

He talked with her everyday he was here, both on the phone and through IMs. Rebecca's leave was to overlap Peter's by about two days depending on flights. She flew into Killeen, so he knew he would be able to see her for a very short time before he flew to Iraq. He also knew that she would then leave Killeen and head to Colorado, which just happened to take her right through here. 

He asked if we would like to meet her. That was a silly question, of course we did. Peter told his dad that he was a little afraid for her to meet us because, "Mom might ask her too many questions and scare her away". (Who me?:)

All of that long drawn out story to tell you that we did meet Rebecca. She was all that Peter had promised and more. (It is funny, you pray a lifetime for your children's future spouses, and then you meet someone who might possibly be one of them, and your shocked at how well God answered your prayer.) 

We found Rebecca to be polite, sweet, intelligent and yes Peter, very beautiful. More than that, she loves the Lord and desires to walk closely with Him. Rebecca, is serving along side Peter in Iraq. What a great place for them to truly get to know each other. They have to see each other for who they really are, on a daily basis. There is not really an opportunity for "glamorous dating", they both work long hours under stressful conditions. 

We are hoping to get a chance visit with Rebecca a little more as she travels back to Killeen. We are praying for our Lord's protection and guidance over both of their lives. Thank you to all of you who continually lift both of our sons up before the Lord as they go through the many phases in life.