“House” Building

 

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” *

When the doorbell rang at 9:00 one Wednesday evening, Al and I welcomed in a young family: Susanna, the daughter of our dear friends, Joe and JoAnn Payne, Susanna’s husband and two little girls. The family had flown from their home in North Carolina to Michigan and was enroute to a wedding in Detroit over the weekend. Susanna had made arrangements to spend a couple of nights with us before the wedding. We were excited!

 Susanna, her husband Dan, and the girls came through the front door, the four-year old holding her doll and the toddler in her daddy’s arms. She shared a memory of coming to spend a few days with us at our home in Springville, California.

Each of her three older sisters had come as our “niece for the week.” Finally, it was

Susanna’s turn.

“Oh! I must have been in high school,” she said, “because I remember practicing for cross-country, running along the road with Al riding his bike alongside me!”

It wasn’t as clear in my mind as it was in Susanna’s!

We had not met Dan and the children before that evening. After introductions had been made, the girls were quickly changed and put to bed, then we four adults sat at the table and visited over snacks. Dan, who serves in the military, told us more about his background. Susanna,  formerly a nurse, is now at home, training and nurturing her girls.

The next morning, we sat around the table talking about plans for the day over bowls of oatmeal.

 “Naps and eating,” Dan said with a grin. After a long flight with two youngsters and the wedding still ahead, they were looking forward to a day of unwinding.

Tiny voices and the exuberance of youth soon filled our little house. Being in the service, Dan was extremely fit, impressing us by doing pushups with his baby perched on his back and other feats of strength.

We decided to drive to a nearby Nature Preserve, where some of the artwork from the Detroit Institute of Arts was being displayed along the nature trail. The trail wound through the woods and around the perimeter of a large pond covered with lily pads. Jessica, the oldest child, wanted to know why each lily pad had a slit in it. Good question!

Then she found a small watering can, dipped it into the pond and began to sprinkle the surface with water. Dozens of small fish congregated near the place where we were standing, attracted to the sprinkling of the water. After letting Jessica play with the watering can for a while, we headed home for nap time, which didn’t sound like a bad idea! 

 They took the girls to Beverly Park in the afternoon and played pickle ball, while the girls ran around the tennis courts. Then Dan, toting the baby, played frisbee golf, and Susanna took the Jessica to the playground.

Al went to watch our grandson, now a high schooler, play in a junior varsity tennis match, while I stayed home to get things ready for dinner and have some quiet time!

Later that evening, we played “partners cribbage,” something we did often with Susanna and her family when she was growing up.

 “Watch out, Dan,” Susanna warned, “they have experience.” Maybe experience comes with age, but that’s no guarantee in cribbage. It was a close game, much fun!

By mid-morning on Friday, they had packed up and were on their way to the pre-wedding activities. In no time, the house was quiet again, devoid of their energy and enthusiasm.

During their stay, we had many good conversations about our common faith in Christ and desire to serve Him. Dan and Susanna are committed to building their house on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.

From one of Dan and Susanna’s favorite hymns by Bob Kauflin,  “Whate’er my God ordains is right"...

“Whate’er my God ordains is right

His holy will abideth

I will be still whate’er He does

And follow where He guideth,”

I’m so glad that they included us in their plans for coming to Detroit and hope they will come again often!

* Joshua 24:14-15 NIV