31 May 2013

Five Minute Friday ~ Imagine

Brendan's graduating class... a senior year I could have never imagined, for any of them...
(posing at a tea and time of prayer held by the Mom's prayer group 

who meets faithfully each week to pray 
for the students and staff of Sahel Academy.
We've been extra thankful for them this year!

Floods... campus unusable... relocation... terrorism on our doorstep... war... becoming a base camp for military operations and drone flights... now common place, military helicopters and planes flying up the river, visible from my living room... armed guards at the school doors... every increasing security restrictions in town... 

He's my first, so I wasn't sure what his final year of high school would be like. But it wasn't this. Never in my wildest dreams, fantasies or nightmares could I have conjured up a year like this one.

But then again, never could I have pictured the young man he's become.

I'm really proud of him... I'd love to share with you his most recent research paper... even when I don't agree with all of this conclusions, they are measured, weighed, carefully thought out and very honest.

Maybe one of these days, he'll let me - share his paper, that is. 

He's not only grown big and tall and strong, he's also grown gentle, compassionate, contemplative, flexible, good at rolling with the punches, holding expectations loosely and he's so kind. Is it wild for a mama to say that about her boy?

Only when I forget he's not so much a boy anymore; he's becoming a pretty great young man.

Not what I imagined back when he looked like this.


But, I'm okay with that when I see what God was imagining 18ish years ago...

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In case you forgot? Snapshots from the flooding back in September and the ongoing recovery work.


R E M E M B E R ~ T H I S?






N O W ~ W E ~ A R E ~ S E E I N G ~ I M A G E S ~ L I K E ~ T H I S!

















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1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

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12 comments:

  1. Loved your post! My only son just turned 18 too. Sigh. I know what you mean......

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  2. It does rather blow the mind doesn't it, what God imagines and plans for us?! Thanks for sharing this Richelle.

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    Replies
    1. God's plans are often times harder... but so much better in the long run.

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  3. Visiting from Five Minute Friday. What a beautiful post and a beautiful family. Our oldest is just turning 13, and he often amazes me. It's such a privilege to watch as our children grow into the adults God created them to be. :)

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    Replies
    1. thanks for your kind words. i LOVE that aspect of being a mama - don't tend to be a sentimental one who wishes they'd always stay little and all mine, if you know what i mean!

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  4. Awesome God...awesome plans...we could never plan it like He does....lovely photo of a lovely young man xx

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  5. Wow, Richelle...what a loving tribute to your son and to God :)

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my place again. Wow, your year has been rough (and yes, I just looked up some of the news, I didn't realize you were affected by Mali too). Here's hoping that you can have a restful summer!

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    Replies
    1. thank you.

      i'm impressed you took the time to check out the news. often, people confuse us with nigeria. course, they've got their own issues that are spilling northwards, too.

      i AM looking forward to rest this summer.

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