I got me a new girlfriend yesterday. I got a call from an old friend yesterday asking for a good place for twelve people to eat breakfast in Galveston. They had just gotten off one of the cruise ships and their kids were hungry. That would be their eight kids. Desiree's Mom and Dad were with them as well. I thought through my repertoire of breakfast sites. The Diner on 61st would have been good, but they were nowhere near there. The home of the Bronco burrito on Broadway wouldn't have had room for eight kids. I figured they would want something more than Shipley's or Home Cut donuts. I finally recommended IHOP, but someone in the crowd said they really didn't want to go there. That left the only other place I could think of. Denny's. That one met with everyone's approval, and I gave them instructions.
They invited us to join them and catch up. And when I arrived the place was more packed than I have ever seen it. You sure can tell it's Spring Break in Galveston. We haven't seen Desiree since I was her high school basketball coach in Denver. That's been at least seventeen years ago. We did reconnect through FaceBook a while back, so I have seen pictures and was aware of her big family. They live near Beeville, Texas on a farm or ranch or something big enough for the kids to raise hogs and ducks for 4-H. Speaking of the kids, I don't know their ages, but the oldest one can't be much more than ten, so they have a real handful. And the youngest one is a little girl. She still counts her age in the months, but she is definitely a cutie. In fact she flirted with me all through the time we were there, and I was smitten. That definitely gave me the best seat in the house.
It was great to get to know the family. The kids were very well-behaved. Quite an impressive accomplishment for them and their parents. I enjoyed hearing the story of how they got together, and they were patient enough to listen to a story or two of my own. I guess I must have seemed like some kind of weird legend-come-to-life to the kids. One of them looked up at me with just a hint of awe or fear or wonder or, more probably, incredulity (That's a big word that means "I can't figure out for sure what you are"), and asked, "Did you really used to coach her?" It's always hard for a kid to grasp Mommy and Daddy being younger. They get that we are getting older and will continue getting older and will always be older. But younger? Not so much. After my assurances that it was indeed true, the youngster walked quietly away with that small head slowly wagging back and forth, obviously still struggling with the images of Mom in a basketball uniform.
Hebrews 7:23-25 says, "Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
Father, thank you for chances to reconnect with friends as well as opportunities to connect with new ones. Amen.
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