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...

****************************************

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!

Wanna participate? Visit Lisa Jo's... here's the rules:

"Set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.

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

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community."