"Where Have You Been, Young Man?"

"Where have you been, young man?" she said.  "We've been waiting for you a long time."  No, this wasn't the exasperated tone of a mother upset because her child was late for dinner again, nor was it the impatient complaint of a teacher, standing in the hallway just outside the bathroom waiting for rowdy boys to join the rest of the class. This was the voice of a delivery nurse wrapping our newborn son, Clayton, in a blanket moments after his birth.  She knew our story of delayed hopes and set-aside dreams in trying to have a child.  Most couples don't wait thirteen years to have a baby after marriage, but our journey was a bit different.  We had wanted a child for some time, had worked with specialists for several years, and struggled through the heartbreaking loss of a child a few years before, so by the time he arrived, just after 2 p.m. on June 9, 1994, it seemed to anxious parents, and one labor and delivery nurse, that he was long overdue.

Though we had been waiting a long time to be parents, Clayton actually arrived on his due date, a fact that Cindy takes pride in since being on time is a character trait she reveres. From that moment on, however, our lives changed. Now, twenty-two years later, through ups and downs, accomplishments and struggles, it all seems as if it happened just yesterday...the long years of waiting have given way to the blur of quickly passing years.  We were warned about such things.  We smiled and quietly scoffed at those "veteran" parents and grandparents who warned us to enjoy every moment because each day and month and year would rapidly accelerate, leaving us wondering how we, and he, could change so quickly. From blankets and a bassinette, to toy trains and a basketball, to a university diploma and now a job in a distant city, I cant figure out where these 8,036 days have gone. I do know that in those nearly 193,000 hours, the blessings have far outweighed the challenges and I find myself humbly acknowledging my unworthiness to have shared in such a gift. The time, but so much more so, the relationship, has taught me great lessons of life I may not have learned any other way. Yet again, a role I was called to embrace and bring blessing to, has embraced and brought blessing to me.  Isn't it funny how life often seems to work that way...anticipation gives way to reality, and calling gives way to blessing.

And so, pardon me if my mind returns today across twenty-two years of memories to the words of a young woman I'd never met before that June afternoon.  "Where have you been young man? We've been waiting for you a long time."   Yes, we had been...now, we still are...with great appreciation for what has been and great anticipation for what will yet be.  Happy birthday, Clayton!   Thanks be to God! 

Amen.

Jim Abernathy