You are kidding, right? Our baby is 39?

Good morning and welcome to Friday, yes, FRIDAY, that's when most folks breathe a sigh of anticipation as they look forward to Saturday and Sunday. When people used to act that way around me I would ask what was going on. They would give me the TGIF story and I would fain ignorance. Why? Because in my way of looking at it, Friday is the day after Thursday and it is also the day before Saturday, but every day in and of itself is a day that God has given to us and we should be making the most of each one of them for His honor and glory. But, it is February 26, 2010, and we are contemplating our baby boy's birthday tomorrow, February 27. He will be 39 and that does seem surreal, whatever surreal means. Back in 1971 we were still adjusting to our move from rural Louisiana. I came over to the metro-plex in October 1969 and Marilyn, Chris, and Jimmy joined me in January 1970. Talk about a transition! We moved into an apartment and then later in the year bought our first home, brand new, 3 bedrooms 1-1/2 baths, for just under $17,000. Can you spell the word i-n-f-l-a-t-i-o-n? Our other two boys had been delivered in a country hospital by a general practitioner. In the big city we had to have an obstetrician. Hello? I'm not sure our doctor back in Louisiana even knew what that was. Just kidding.

But everything about this new experience was different and even the day our Rodney was born was remarkably different for us. Marilyn was getting fairly close and her mom was here staying with us. We carried her in on Saturday morning for a check-up and during the exam the doctor told her that he was going to be out of town the next week and asked if she wanted to be induced or have another physician deliver in his absence. Options. Our previous experiences had been when nature took its course which meant several false alarms and all of that but give that to me one more time. At any rate, I left the hospital to take my mother-in-law and the boys back to our home and by the time I returned they escorted me up to a window to see my brand spanking new baby boy. That's my baby? That's my boy? I didn't even get to do the pacing forth and back in the waiting room? Are you sure? That, my dear friends, is the story of how our Rodney Darrell came into the world.

You've heard about people who do a whole lot of living in their lifetime. Our Rodney has been doing a whole lot of living ever since he got here. He almost hit the ground running. He was our baby and still is, even at 39. His brothers will attest to what it means to have to deal with the spoiled baby in the family. He almost immediately picked up on being an entertainer. He had a winsome personality even in the crib and hasn't turned loose of it yet. I can tell you our three boys are all different but different in good ways. Rodney has always had a magnetic kind of magic about him that draws others to him. I think my wife believes he reflects some of her qualities in this area. I'll have to get back to you on that. He was our boy singer in our family singing group. He was the stand up comedian at our family reunions. He was a handful just about every step of the way but God has been good and His grace has showered itself on Rodney's life. Today he has a wonderful wife, three beautiful children, a good job, a wonderful Church, and hundreds of friends. He's still learning and since I talk to him nearly every day I can tell you that God is at work as he thinks through decisions and tries to reason out God's will for him and his family. Dynamic, unique, and filled with potential, we pause to wish our Rodney a happy birthday and send a prayer of thanksgiving to God for him on his special day. May God bless our baby on his 39th birthday! Amen. See you on the flip side as they say and my guess is there will be: .......more later.