Erma Bombeck told this story...
Illustration
Erma Bombeck told this story:
When Mike was three he wanted a sandbox. His father said, "There goes the yard. Mike's friends will be here all the time, and they'll throw sand into the flowerbeds and cats will mess in it, and it'll kill the grass for sure." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
Between breaths when Mike's father was blowing up the plastic swimming pool, he warned. "You know what they're going to do to this place don't you? They're going to condemn it and use it for a missile site. I hope you know what you're in for? They'll track water everywhere, have water fights, and we'll have the only grassless lawn in the neighborhood." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
When Mike was twelve, he volunteered his yard for a campout. As they hoisted the tents and drove in the stakes, his father said: "Why didn't I just put the grass seed out for the birds? You know what all those tents and big feet are going to do to the grass don't you?" And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
The basketball hoop on the side of the garage attracted more teenagers than a rock opera. And Mike's father said, "I never asked for much, only a little patch of grass." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
The grass was just beautiful this summer. It was lush and green and rolled out like a carpet along the drive where teenagers in gym shoes used to play, and by the garage where bicycles used to fall, and around the flowers beds where children used to dig with spoons. But Mike's father never saw any of it. His eyes searched beyond the yard to catch a glimpse of by-gone days. With a catch in his voice, he asked Mike's mother, "He'll come back, won't he?"
If this were a perfect world the answer would be "Yes!" But as this scripture shows, the people in this world are not perfect.
Genesis tells us that because of Sarah's jealousy, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into exile. He sent them into the desert with only a wine skin of water and some bread. When it became apparent that the child would die of thirst, he cried. God heard the child's cry and came to his rescue, proving, that in this family, it was not Abraham, but God that was the good father.
When Mike was three he wanted a sandbox. His father said, "There goes the yard. Mike's friends will be here all the time, and they'll throw sand into the flowerbeds and cats will mess in it, and it'll kill the grass for sure." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
Between breaths when Mike's father was blowing up the plastic swimming pool, he warned. "You know what they're going to do to this place don't you? They're going to condemn it and use it for a missile site. I hope you know what you're in for? They'll track water everywhere, have water fights, and we'll have the only grassless lawn in the neighborhood." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
When Mike was twelve, he volunteered his yard for a campout. As they hoisted the tents and drove in the stakes, his father said: "Why didn't I just put the grass seed out for the birds? You know what all those tents and big feet are going to do to the grass don't you?" And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
The basketball hoop on the side of the garage attracted more teenagers than a rock opera. And Mike's father said, "I never asked for much, only a little patch of grass." And Mike's mother said, "It'll come back."
The grass was just beautiful this summer. It was lush and green and rolled out like a carpet along the drive where teenagers in gym shoes used to play, and by the garage where bicycles used to fall, and around the flowers beds where children used to dig with spoons. But Mike's father never saw any of it. His eyes searched beyond the yard to catch a glimpse of by-gone days. With a catch in his voice, he asked Mike's mother, "He'll come back, won't he?"
If this were a perfect world the answer would be "Yes!" But as this scripture shows, the people in this world are not perfect.
Genesis tells us that because of Sarah's jealousy, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into exile. He sent them into the desert with only a wine skin of water and some bread. When it became apparent that the child would die of thirst, he cried. God heard the child's cry and came to his rescue, proving, that in this family, it was not Abraham, but God that was the good father.
