This Child of Mine

As I type this right now, our son Joshua and his buddy Coleman are road tripping across the country, in tents at national parks from Arizona to South Carolina. He told me the names of the parks they planned to camp at. I connected those destinations on a map and sent it to him asking if that was the tentative route. I’m sure he was rolling those green eyes as he texted back, “Pretty much”. Right before they left they added the Sedona Desert as their first camping spot. I thought what in the world, tent camping in The Sedona Desert at a national park! I texted him and said, “Don’t bring any scorpions home!”

Once a mom, always a mom. Your child is also always you baby no matter how old or big he gets. He has grown into one courageous, kind hearted and stunning person.

As he told me of their road trip plans, I felt my anxiety start to rise. Joshua texted me telling me not to sweat it and they would be fine. I told him he would be the subject of my next book. He said, “No but Coleman wants to be in the next one.” I have plenty of material. All joking aside, it can be nerve racking having an adventurous son. Almost two years ago, Joshua and a group of friends, including three of Coleman’s siblings, hiked a big waterfall. They took theirs shoes off at the bottom and hiked their way up the falls through the water. Once it became too steep they stopped except for two brothers who kept going. One of them slipped way up on a rock, falling into the falls. He never made it home alive. I remember that night like it was yesterday. When the group didn’t arrive back when they said they would, we began making calls. Joshua did come home wearing one of the rescue teams t-shirt. He threw it away not wanting to remember.

God knows our days before we are born. He knows when we will breathe our last breath. We have to trust God with the safety of our children, knowing everything is in His hands. God has seen Joshua through many trials and adventures in life. It’s my prayer that he sees God’s hand guiding him forth. We cover him in prayer daily and his friends as well. I pray on this road trip they will experience God like never before in the majesty of His creation. In the meantime I will keep praying as he is on and off the grid of connection by cell phone. I’m going to be one happy momma when he walks through the door in a few days. Keep them in your prayers.

One chapter in my autobiography is about Joshua. Before publishing my book, “ Rooted by the Water” I asked his permission to include the chapter. I watched his face as he read, pausing, thinking and reading again. He finally said, “I’m glad you’re doing this.” To read more of my story, “Rooted by the Water” you can find it on Amazon and other online retailers. It’s in ebook format and hard and soft cover as well.
Www.shannonkenleyhinson.com