Monday morning we left Denver and drove through the mountains to visit my aunt Vicki and uncle Ron (and my other uncle Steve, too) in Alamosa, Colorado. Words fail to describe what it’s like to melt into the welcoming arms of unconditional love. I hadn’t been to Alamosa and Monte Vista in probably 15 years and my wife and boys had never been there. But we were welcomed into a home where there was no tension, no stress, no selfish expectations, and no “elephants in the room.” The way my aunt and uncles received my little boys that first evening was a priceless treasure.
Uncle Ron took the boys in the mornings to feed the mules and they helped Aunt Vicki water the flowers. Uncle Steve took us to an alligator farm Tuesday to see the gators, snakes, turtles, ducks, ostriches, and a ferret named Ro-Ro. They actually got to pet the ferret and a baby alligator (as well as the snake around the cashier’s shoulders). We spent a lot of time watching the humming birds off aunt Vicki’s porch and finding “boy” ways to play with girl toys: costume jewelry becomes pirate treasure and hairbrushes become swords (which makes the dolls and stuffed animals hostages, I think). We watched the crop dusters fly over Tuesday morning and Elijah growled at the Mountain Lion skin on the wall each time he walked by it. Baby Graham has been passed from one set of loving arms to the next without a break. Brennan and Tanner got to sit in the pilot seats of a real airplane and push all the buttons when we visited the airport. The plane’s owner will need an hour to reset everything!
What a wonderful time of healing it’s been to be here. What a haven! What a godsend in this terrible storm we’ve endured. What a joy to be reminded that family can really be like this: unconditional and unassuming, pure and wholesome, relaxed and inviting. We can laugh and tease and even bear with one another in love without any fear at all. We have this in Kansas City but seeing it so far away from home is like seeing it anew.
Last night the boys asked Ron and Vicki to pray with them before bed (which is a rare invitation). They were tucked in under an old quilt and Mom and Dad and Great Aunt and Great Uncle each gathered around the bed and prayed with those precious little boys and kissed them goodnight. Pictures of my grandparents looked over us.
I don’t have a word for how this made me feel but I think that being in heaven will bring that moment to mind.
8 comments:
Jared,
After being a faithful subscriber to your blog and knowing you personally for a number of years, the only thing I think this blog is showing is your arrogance and your insensitivity. The blog has become a tool of implications and disrespect. Your personal quote of your blog is quite ironic. Being content with your life is taking the good with the bad, the rich with the poor, selfish expectations with none. I am glad you have the peace of mind that you have taken a very terrible tragedy that you have 'weathered' and made it into a family vacation. There are other people that could use your and your wife’s presence in this time. Being a 'strong Christian', I would believe your presence would be best suited with a family who barely knows you, who could be shown 'the love of Christ'. Where this would be a time of a family being brought together your selfishness has added fuel to the fire. I sincerely hope you and your wife will be where you are truly needed.
I find myself having to agree with the previous poster..."Christians" like you are the very reason I no longer attend church.
And "What a godsend in this terrible storm we’ve endured." seems to be a misrepresentation of fact as from my observations you are most often the stormbringer.
Anyway your arrogance and lack of thought/compassion has steeled my opinion of Christianity...doing a great job their "Reverend". Maybe you have a better effect on a "flock" as closed minded and self-adoring as yourself...
I can't see it. How is spending time with close-knit family members mistaken as a "vacation". I believe that Anonymous fails to see that Jared is obviously choosing to surround his family with people who show love and acceptance to all of them. Jesus told his Disciples (in Matthew 10), if you go to a place and the people there accept you, stay. If you go into a home or town, and they do not welcome you, leave! He also said, when you leave that home or town, "shake the dust off your feet and leave it all there." It seems to me that Jared's act was not selfish, but selflessly considerate of his immediate family, which he is responsible for.
As a friend of Shannon's and knowing Jared as I do, I can only imagine that he wants to share with her family in their loss, not judge them. I hope Shannon can communicate that to her family and they can heal any bitterness caused by misunderstanding.
"Being content with your life is taking the good with the bad,..."
And, by the way... taking the good with the bad does not mean that you need to accept the bad and pretend that it's good. It just means that you don't let the bad drag you down into the muck.
I don't believe that some people have nothing better to do than to judge and comdemn others about every move they make. They don't even know what they are talking about because they don't know half the story concerning Jared and Shannon's life. Jared has been supportive of Shannon doing whatever she saw fit to do concerning being with her dad as he was in the hospital and then as he passed. But some of the family forbade Jared and the boys to even come to Colorado. But she wanted her whole family there with her during this hard time, unfortunalely they did not welcome them. Whose loss is that anyway? I am so glad that Jared and the family were able to spend time with family who loved them unconditionally. Nobody is perfect and Jared has never claimed to be. If you don't like his blog, simple, don't read it!!! But don't talk about something like you know the whole story, cause it is obvious you don't.
Those who choose to insult, degrade, criticize, and judge Jared without knowing the facts are showing their ignorance. He is the most forgiving and gracious man I've met.
He is the first to defend those who have had all kinds of sin and problems in their lives. I have several times witnessed him defending a person who has turned on him and verbally attacked and assaulted him and tried to hurt him and his ministry. Yet he refuses to talk negatively about them and tells others to give them "grace". And he will hold in confidence all their "secrets" to the end. He is keenly aware of his own sinfulness and quickly tells others that he is "just a beggar telling other beggars where to find food." Would any sensible person call that "arrogance"? I think not!
When people make negative and hateful and profane remarks and then hide behind a curtain of anonymity, they show their cowardice. It is easy to hide. It's a lot different to sign your name and let everyone know who you are.
Thank you.
Of course, not ANYONE would know all sides of this story. The facts are very apparent to a number of people; the blog was a direct comparison between two environments. What timing you have! Twisting a sword into broken hearts. Jared you are not an ignorant person, ‘to be welcome into a home with out tension, stress and selfish expectations’, not wanting to sound like a broken record, I stand by the first comment. You cannot possibly claim this blog was written in innocence. The words you have written is about the MOST arrogant, selfish, insensitive thing you probably could have done. ‘I can only imagine Jared wants to share with her family in their loss, not judge them’ How appalling of someone to imply Jared NOT being judgmental. He was comparing two families, and then put it on his blogsite. His Blogsite?!?!? I really would like to think Jared would not do something like this to get revenge, but it is extremely obvious. There are several people who took offense, and I hope the damaged relationships can be repaired.
I believe I can speak from Shannon's fathers family in that we would like all communication on the subject of her fathers death to come to an end. Not one person on this earth knows what has transpired between Jared and her fathers family,except me and it will never be discussed, especially on a "blog". This is a situation that has occured over a 10 year time period. Shannon has been loved for her entire life from her extended family, and she knows that in her heart. I would pray that everyone would someday be as well thought of and loved and her father was from people from all walks of life. Please respect he and his family and discontinue any further conversation.
Susan Hancock (wife of Ralph Hancock)
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