The 15 Hour Blessing

“Sometimes people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and somehow, we’re never the same.” This is the sentiment that we had printed on Brock’s birth announcement ten years ago.
It came back to me this past weekend when we had a group of “kids” stay with us from RiverGlen Christian Church in Waukesha, WI. We knew they were only going to be here overnight. Long enough to stretch out their legs after a long days drive, grab a meal, hit the sack so they could continue their journey to West Virginia. The youth from this church serve on mission teams every summer from middle school through high school and here they were, a group of 23, stopping over to rest. We were lucky enough to get six of them. Brandon Stephenson, their youth pastor, Nate, Connor, J.P., Ryan and Vince. What a great bunch of guys. Polite, transparent, honest…competitive. For such a short visit, I witnessed basketball, weight lifting, ping pong, drumming, lacrosse and a push-up contest. Brock, who was a little nervous about having older guys around said, "I know what if feels like to have brothers." Only one of them was tricked into eating cat food, so I guess my cooking wasn’t too bad.
After church, Kevin and I talked about how we felt so compelled to pray for these kids; their journey this week, their families back home and their lives and futures as soldiers in the world’s most important army. We only met them 15 hours earlier, but felt so compelled to pour out prayer all over them. What a blessing to have gotten a chance to know them, if only for a short time. Vince, I have no idea what you will be when you grow up, but I am sure the FBI needs a good profiler, or possibly Michael Vick needs a good agent. Stay in touch guys, okay?