When you were a child who did you want to be when you grew up? A princess? A fireman? An ice skater? The President? We tell our kids to dream big. They can become whatever they want. I’ve always encouraged my kids to be doctors, lawyers or The President. But I am done with that. Who I want to be when I grow up … I want to be Evan.
My Hero
This world is filled with greedy liars, cheaters, backstabbers and two-faced folks. Sure, my Evan has his fair share of greed too. Please don’t come looking at his immense reusable bag collection. Don’t bother asking to share his Apples to Apples cards. And he may lie about needing to go somewhere else when he wants to get out of doing a difficult job. But how many guys his age tell their mom she’s beautiful every day? Or randomly hug her multiple times each day? (Yes, he also calls me Queen Punk. But that’s mostly in jest. Mostly.) How many people are happy with one pair of shoes in this country? (Heck, in my house? The rest of us love shoes here!) And Evan knows nothing about being two-faced. We may call him Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when he has one of his meltdowns, but he doesn’t know what it would mean to purposely deceive someone for his gain. And thankfully, he has no idea how to hurt someone with word or action just because he thinks they may deserve some sort of payback. (Proverbs 24:29) With Evan, you get what you get. His heart is on full display for all. I thank God for that Evan.
We praise so many people for the titles they hold in this world. We place great value on the celebrity, the rich and the well-educated. We go back to school, choose a new career, rise through the ranks of a job; and these aren’t always bad things. I’ve tried a few and put my hopes in others. But who are we behind closed doors?
Who am I in God’s eyes?
Evan will never reach these worldly ranks. He will barely make it through special education in high school. And that’s if he chooses to stay. Remember, he really hates school. Forging a career for Evan is hurting our hearts and minds right now. But behind closed doors, I know Evan. He is so much purer than the rest of this world. His joy is pure and in such simple things. His wants, while certainly demanding at times, are easily attained and inexpensive. His words are few, honest and without deception. (Except that hard work thing.) His prayers are a wonder to hear; simple and never overly wordy to bring him attention. It’s just him and God. Evan has no desire to sit and think about hurting others; ways he can get back at someone. He loves people too much to hurt them.
Love God. Love People. These are the two biggest commands that Jesus gave us. Jesus should always be our first example. But he has given me someone in my home who is getting this right way more often than the rest of us. Including me. I know. I live it every day. I think we have our Earthly heroes all wrong. Forget being doctors, lawyers and Presidents. Who is it I want to be when I grow up? I want to be Evan.
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
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