Family

Here is a recent picture of my family! In fact this was taken just last weekend when my sons and “daughter-in-law to be” went to visit my parents in St. Louis. You see pictures of me often enough but here are who I left behind to come to Africa.
The far left is my baby, Michael. He just turned 22. His long golden locks are the result of not cutting his hair since I left home last November. He shaved his hair to show his support and vowed not to cut again until he saw me. (See picture to the right.) The good news is he is coming to visit me in Swaziland in December and has asked to have it shaved again when he sees me.
To the right of Michael are my parents, Howard and Irma Sparks. Dad just was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has started chemo treatments and seems to be handling it wonderfully. Keep him in your prayers. Everyone says I look like my mom but I think she is a lot more photogenic.
On the far left is my eldest son, Kris. He will be 24 in February. He is working on his master’s in education and has a passion for teaching history. Kris’s fiancé, Christina, is the one taking the picture so here is a separate picture of her. She has the sweetest spirit and caring personality. Keep them in your prayers as she also is undergoing chemo treatments.
I am so pleased that both my boys (and Christina) took the initiative to travel from Georgia to Missouri to visit their grandparents without their mom prompting them. They do grow up to be responsible adults!
Sometimes it is hard to be so far away, but sometimes it is easier to let go and let God handle things when I not in close proximity. I am such one to want to “fix” things and “solve” problems and often that is not my place.
Over a month ago I was reading a devotion in “The Word For You Today” and I have copied it and been letting it sink in ever since. So as I share “my family” with you may I share some of “Let Go And Let God”.
To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring, it just means I can’t do it for someone else. . . . To let go is to admit my powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands. . . . To let go is not to care for, but to care about; not to fix, but to be supportive; not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes. To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality. . . . To let go is to fear less and love more. To let go --- is to let God!
My prayer is that by learning to let go more that my family and friends will stop being distracted by my actions and see God’s hand in everything.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8