Wipe Out

He was racing his bike up and down the driveway as fast as he could possibly go. He's only had the training wheels off for a few weeks but he has no fear of falling, no idea that anything bad could happen to him. I refuse to watch! With every wiggle of the front tire, every near miss I can see him sailing through the air and I know there is no way to catch him, no way to stop the pain of the impact or the terror he'll feel in the milliseconds preceding it. I pull weeds, with my back to the driveway, refusing to look up. My mind wanders to some of the nasty crashes on my bike when I was a kid. It's part of life, part of growing up and into who we will one day be.

My thoughts are jolted my a scream, Maaaaammmmm!!!!!! MOMMY, MOMMY! I jump up and out or my thoughts. The inevitable has happened, he's wiped out. I run to the end of the driveway, I never realized how long it is. He is sitting up holding his knees. His helmet is still on straight so I know the critical part is okay. As I carry him into the house the crying stops, man that is a really looong driveway. He has ugly scrapes and some mild road rash but nothing a jumbo band-aid, a spoon of peanut butter and a movie won't fix. After lots of hugs and kisses I tell him it was a really cool crash and he was really brave. He grins, "thanks mom".

As I'm popping popcorn for the movie and spooning the peanut butter I think back on the wipe outs I've had today. I realize then that my Father was watching me, seeing the front wheel wobble, watching me go faster and faster until the inevitable happened. "I'm here" He said, "let me carry you for a while, until you feel better". Unlike Farm Boy I didn't cry out, I should have but I didn't. He was there anyway. Always there ready to pick up the pieces when I have raced off on my own. Even when I fail to heed His warnings, when I go and do without consulting Him first, even when I break His heart He is there to shelter me in his love and mercy. I have to wonder though, since I'm sure there are no weeds in heaven what does He do while He waits for me to crash?