A Light in the Neighborhood

There are times that I get extremely frustrated with my boys and I'm sure they get extremely frustrated with me. I find myself always wanting to protect them from all the things that I already know the outcome of because I've experience it at some point in my life. But it always seems as though they have to find out the answer themselves.

It's rare that I'm content just doing nothing. I usually get pretty restless pretty fast. I like to be going somewhere or doing something. I believe this gene was passed off, especially to my youngest son. Sometimes it seems as though the only time he's home is when he's sleeping, and sometimes he doesn't even do that here.

I find myself often getting upset when he's rarely home. Maybe its jealousy, maybe its envy, I'm not sure. It's not that I expect him to be here 'round the clock. We all need our space. It just seems like, as his parents, we're often pretty low on his priority list.

There's one particular friend that he's spends a lot of time with. At times I wonder if the family is going to claim on their taxes as he's with them that much. This past weekend the grandmother in this family passed away. Josh was at the hospital with the family and spend much of the weekend with them afterwards. He ran errands for them, created a DVD of photos that could be played at the funeral home, and was there for general support for his friend and his family.

When Lori and I learned of her passing we drove down to their house with some food to help feed all of the family that had arrived. The parents couldn't say enough nice things about how Josh had helped them out. In my own mind I thought Josh should probably come home so they could mourn as a family but kept my thoughts to myself. Josh came home later to get a change of clothes and said that he wasn't going to be going to work until Thursday and the funeral was over. Again I was a bit surprised but refrained from commenting.

Tuesday Lori and went to the funeral home after dinner to pay our respects. It was packed. Josh was introducing us to various family members and everyone of them said what a good kid he was and how much they enjoyed him and appreciated his support and help. We watched the DVD he made and it was an awesome tribute to the grandmother and something the family could treasure after the funeral was said and done.

It wasn't until this morning that it was finally clear to me and I think the jealousy and envy, if it was that, has departed from me. I realized that Josh was being Jesus to this family. He was compassionate. He spent hours, no days by their side, just being there for them. He stayed up until the early hours of the morning creating a DVD of memories that the family would have to cherish long after the funeral was over. He arranged for thier lawn to be mowed. He ran countless errands for them. But mostly he was just there for them, demanding nothing in return.

Josh was, or is the true friend and loyal friend that everyone wants to have. I admire him for who he was to this family and only hope that I could be that kind of friend to someone in my life. Whether Josh realized it or not I think he was a reflection of Jesus to this family.