Getting Ready for Malachi to Show Up

We are washing dishes (OK, Joanie is loading the dishwasher) and washing clothes (OK, Joanie washed the clothes) and getting ready to leave California for Illinois on Friday. It is such a hectic time for us: Joanie has just begun school (this is her second week) and I am just about to start school (begins on the 24th). I have a syllabus to get ready for a class I am helping to teach (on Creative Preaching) and a lot of preparation for the Preaching with Passion Conference that is coming up in October with Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie (I am the conference director or some title like that). This is the worst time to be taking 10 days and going away. . . unless you get to see your kids and be a part of the birth of your first grandchild. Then, it is the best time to be going away!

We spend so much of our time doing things that sound important and that we treat as important we can miss the things that are important. Classes and schoolwork, education and work are all important. But, they will be here when we return. The birth of Malachi David Frymire will only occur once. And nothing can or should keep me from that moment. Now, he may arrive before we get there (you know how births can be) but we will be there when he is but moments old. Like my children before him, I want to be a part of his whole life. I watched the joy my boys had in growing up with a set of grandparents like Joanie's folks were (my Mom and Dad died before my kids could get to know them). Their lives were enriched by the influence of these two wonderful people (Dad still influences them all greatly and, with Mom having passed away a few years back, Dad's wife Tina is now a continuing wonderful presence in their lives) and I hope that Joanie and I will have the same opportunity to influence Malachi as he grows. He will enter the world with wonderful parents who already love him and are excited about the joy of parenting.

So, we are getting ready for Malachi. Doing the most important thing we can do. We will be present. You know, that may be the most important thing we ever do - show up. Be there. I wish more people understood that when it comes to church and worship. How much larger and more dynamic would our worship services be if everyone just showed up every Sunday. Attendance would double at most churches (no exaggeration). We live in a society that believes that attending church once a month makes you a "regular" attender. It's the only place where that attitude lives. You are not a valued employee when you show up a couple of times a week. You are not a good student if you only go to class sporadically. Showing up means a lot. I went to my kids games, concerts, plays, and musicals. They could always count on Joanie and I showing up. It was important for us to be there. We wanted to be there - but it was also important to be there. I have become more and more convinced over the years that God desires to bless people who are faithful in worship - who just show up regularly. I even think that God expects us to show up and is sad when we don't show up. I remember when I was young and got to playing with friends and forgot to show up for lunch or dinner. That never made my parents happy and it always led to me being less than happy.
So, Malachi, when you show up your grandparents will be there. And that says a lot.