“‘He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’” (Luke 15:16-20).
The year was 1987. Newly married and full of dreams, my husband and I packed our small U-haul and charted our course for Columbus, Ohio. It was a difficult good-bye. My twenty-one years of living were spent in close proximity to my parents. Wilmore was my home, and Columbus was my next. It was hard to fathom such newness, and my heart swelled with grief at every turn. I didn’t know how to do this thing…this letting go of my current to embrace the unknowns of my future. Still and yet, the excitement of pondered possibilities soothed the ache within.
We spent the first three weeks of our married life living with my parents until it was time for our departure. That hot July morning greeted my emotions with the sweltering truth of the steps that would soon follow. We lingered a little longer that day at the breakfast table. Ate our food a little slower, and talked a little further about nothing really important. And when all of the words that could be spoken found their end, my husband climbed behind the wheel of the moving van, and I took the helm of my Chevy Cavalier.
It was a slow crawl around that familiar block…husband in the lead and me at the processional rear. I took one last look at the neighborhood homes that housed the antics of my youth, and then I took a final glance out the side window to gaze upon the backside of my childhood home. It was then that I witnessed a profound memory that will stay with me for the rest of my days. Even now, twenty-one years later, I recall it with clarity and with tear-filled tenderness.
My father, wet with his own tear-stained grief was running through the backyard, into our neighbor’s yard…hands raised to the heavens and voice shouting his audible words of affirmation…
I love you! I love you! I love you, Elaine!
It was all I could do to keep a forward focus. If my husband hadn’t needed me to follow, I am confident that I would have turned that Chevy around and crawled back home to my familiar. I traveled many miles before regaining my composure. Tears would be my constant for several days to come; it would also be the similar portion of my parents. We were used to doing life together. No one had prepared us for the letting go. And as quickly as Easter Sunday 1966 arrived, suddenly and with little warning, July 1987 appeared, and the apron strings between parent and child were cut with a profundity that rocked our hearts.
I have never forgotten that moment. My father’s running after me stands as a witness…a benchmark of sorts…that speaks the testimony of my entire existence upon this earth. I couldn’t have known at that time what my father’s reaching arms would mean to me in the seasons to come. Eight years down the road, the same arms that let me go would be the same arms that welcomed me home; this time with two little boys needing them every bit as much as I did.
I was my parents’ prodigal. The pods that fed the pigs no longer sufficed my palate. Thank God I came to my senses in the matter.
Divorced a year earlier, I took to my season of wild living with a reckless abandon that nearly cost me my life. It matters not the reason for my divorce. It was a bad decision all around, filled with the selfish and stubborn of two people who decided that life apart would be better than life as one. Problem is…life as one never splits evenly. One plus one equals one in God’s kingdom agenda. When that oneness separates, what remains are two halves in a huge identity crisis.
I fleshed out that crisis by feeding myself with the food of swine. And when famine came along (for famine is always the penchant of a swine’s filling), I began to notice my need. My hunger for home became my resolve as my heart echoed the words of a prodigal…
“… I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.”
Even in my darkness and my distance and my squandering and my sin, my daddy saw me. He loved me still, and when I called to ask if I could home, he simply replied,
“How quickly can you get here?”
1995
The same arms that sent me away were the same arms that greeted me upon my return. The fattened calf knew a quick surrender, and the feasting began in my honor. No swine’s pod for the filling this time. Only God’s grace for the cleansing. It is a feasting that continues to this day. I have my parents to thank because my parents held onto some sacred truths in the middle of my tumultuous. They held onto the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ knows that…
If faith is to be raised in his children, then love’s long reach must be embraced.
Long and wide and high and deep. A stretch that encompassed the East and the West of Calvary’s surrender. A stretch that is timeless and continues to span the spectrum of history. To jump off of the pages of Holy Writ into the hearts of men and women who have noticed their hunger and who have come home for the filling.
Of all the things that we could give our children in their process of “becoming”—in the raising of their faith—perhaps nothing is greater than the truth of Calvary’s stretch. We can…
Embrace our story of faith.
Embrace our voice.
Embrace our silence.
Embrace our imperfections.
Embrace our stones of remembrance.
But if we stop short of embracing our reach, then we have stopped short of sacred parenting. Shaping love never ends with a closed fist. Shaping love begins with extended fingers. Hands that…
Stretch. Strain. Strive and Stay.
Hands that…
Watch. Wait. Weep and Welcome.
Hands that…
Forgive. Forget. Fellowship and Feast.
We were made the stretch, my friends. Every last one of us. We have been commissioned to God’s great calling of raising faith in this generation. It is a calling that I take seriously; not only in the home that houses my children, but also in the community that houses God’s people. We each have a place within that community…a context in which to frame our calling. Yours doesn’t necessarily look like mine, but the truth of our purpose scripts the same.
If faith is to be raised, then faith must be embraced.
Hold tight to this Truth, dear ones, for soon and very soon, our faith will be made as sight, and we will walk hand in hand with the One who stretched his arms on our behalf. Let us celebrate and find our gladness this day, for we, who were once dead in our sin, have been made alive through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
The party has only just begun.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of his abiding and promised Holy Spirit, Amen!
…raising faith in a new generation, Father’s Day 2008!
Copyright © June 2008 – Elaine Olsen. All rights reserved.
~elaine
Thank you for joining me on this journey of “Raising Faith.” In a million years, I could have never imagined writing this series as it pertains to parenting and otherwise. But, God imagined it, and I am better for the penning of my heart. May God continue to bless you each one as you raise the faith of others along the way in this journey called “right now.” I stand alongside you in the calling. I welcome your thoughts…your prayer requests…your friendship and your partnership in the spreading of the Gospel that has loved this prodigal home again. May God continue to speak his power and his grace through your reach at every turn. As always, peace for the journey. ~elaine
So heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I am truly in awe as I sit and read your words today.
Elaine,
My heart is so full that I’m struggling to find words. This series of yours has been soul food to me, reminders that I must not overlook the obvious….the children under my nose and the hubby that is encouraged by my steadfast faith.
Father’s day was special and difficult for me. I made it to church just long enough (I had a terrible sinus, head cold) to bring my children into the service to listen to their dad sing instead of preach…he sang the Phillips, Craig, and Dean song I Just Want to Be Like You….the chorus gets to me:
Lord, I want to be just like You
‘Cause he wants to be just like me
I want to be a holy example
For his innocent eyes to see
Help me be a living Bible, Lord
That my little boy can read
I want to be just like You
‘Cause he wants to be like me
My life with chronic pain continues to pull me out of many things so that I can be faithful to the main priorities of my life right now….raising my kids and supporting my husband. I struggle with having a Mary heart in a busy Martha world. But when I stop to study, meditate, and pray…and then do all the self-care required I can see it was time well spent. It is only then that I can see clearly the time left I have with my kids is small…..and they are watching me choose what is the most important in life: doing stuff, or sitting at the Savior’s feet getting to know Him and loving Him more every day.
Your posts in this series has affirmed those choices and helped with my significance struggles.
Thank you for being in my life these days.
“Made to stretch” – beautiful! In my own life I have experienced that elasticity even as I felt my soul would stretch beyond its own edges. It’s how metal is tested, and it’s how souls are fortified.
This is also redemption, Elaine. The very best of it! Who could have known those many years ago that life (every aspect of it) was carving such poetic story-weaving into your very soul. No longer beyond your reach, but in your grasp.
Yes … made to stretch, and more – – much, much more. You are a conquerer. Praise the Lord!
Awesome,
Kathleen
My dear sweet cousin Faith Elaine,
I love to read your words. Thank you for sharing them with us. I am so very proud of your successes! They are going to love your book! 🙂
hugs, Carolyn~
Ok, this was my favorite of all the series….both the study and possibly all the others I’ve read.
This touch me deeply. Emailing the rest……..
Oh my, This one REALLY pulls the heart strings. I have read each of the comments concerning this post to see if they, too, “caught” the emotions of your words and it was evident that they did. Each one expressed themselves a little differently but I think it was a very emotional experience for all of us.
As I was reading your every word, the song, “Oh, Love That Will Not Let Me Go” came to mind. You exprienced this first with your earthly parents and then in your Heavenly Father’s love.
As you know, many children do not experience this kind of love from their parents and it is difficult for them to trust and put confidence in God, and to really believe that He is a kind and benevolent Father.
mary
p.s. You definitely favor your Dad, Elaine. 🙂
Elaine-I can’t say enough howe much I am blessed when I come to your site. Thank you for sharing your life and faith!!
Can’t wait to meet you this week!!
In His Graces~Pamela
Elaine,
How can I thank you enough for this incredible series? I will have to come back and read each post again and again. So much to take in.
I’ve been so challenged and greatly encouraged.
I have 2 prodigal sons, your testimony has renewed my hope and my hands will remain outstretched. Thank you for sharing your testimony with us.
…for soon and very soon, our faith will be made as sight, and we will walk hand in hand with the One who stretched his arms on our behalf.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring
good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who
proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
Blessings to you my friend♥
What precious words you have put down this day. Even when our earthly father’s do not have the open arms as yours there is sweet joy to know that our Heavenly Father just waits for us to come home to Him.
Once again,I feel as though you have reached into the very center of my being and have written this just for me. It mirrors my life in so many ways.
Thank you for sharing your faith and thanks to your mama and daddy for sharing their Faith!
Blessings and hugs!
Liz
Thank you so much for sharing your life stories with us. Your willingness to be open and honest is life changing for me.
My prayers are with you this week. May God’s will be done in your life. Please let us all know how it goes when you get home. Travel safe and be blessed!
This is beautiful Elaine.
Thanks for sharing it.
The Raising Faith series has been great a blessing to me!
Elaine,
WOW! I have loved this series. Thank you so much. I have sometimes have trouble stretching to embrace my reach. You have given me so much to think about.
Blessings,
Marita
Thank you for sharing this amazing series of messages. This last one was particularly poignant. The image of your Dad running and calling out that he loved you nearly did me in! The story of the prodigal son has always been one that touches me deeply. Knowing what you’ve shared about your journey makes it even more beautiful to see what God is obviously doing in your heart. He is so good to us. I have two prodigal brothers so this was such an encouragement.
Blessings dear one,
Tracy
Elaine,
something you said in this post mean so much to me… When I was young I made bad mistakes, and after I left home I got Pregnant, well my step Dad got so mad at me, but the day I walked in to his house with my baby all the anger melted away, and I knew that he loved me and my child… I am so glad for the love of God and my Step Dad… You are in my prayres…
Connie
GBU
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. Even more so I think after attending the funeral of a much loved 10 year old little boy last night. There were over 500 people at this funeral. My boys were along side me and I feel truly blessed to still have them beside me. How much we take for granted, but God allows us the nudge needed to get us back in focus. Thank you Elaine for your friendship and sharing your penned gifts with us. I love you!
What a blessing you are!
I am so touched by every word in this post today.
Thank you for your humble, honest heart. God must be smiling down on you, Elaine!
In Christ,
Amy:)
P.S. I will email you soon.
Dear Elaine,
Your net casts wide and the yield is deep.
I am profoundly grateful for your words that encourage young mothers. But all of us, whether young, old, married or un, childless or quiver full, all of us desire to come to the end of our lives knowing they were well-lived. Like song, the Holy Spirit weaves your words throughout our minds and hearts sowing hope and courage – also needful for the journey.
May God continue to bless this enriching work of your mind and heart.
Hello Elaine,
I just wanted to post a quick P.S., if I may, please..
I type/blog whilst @ work (not the best idea, I just have to, though 😉 so please understand my brief comments. 🙂
I love ya lots and miss u all,
hugs,
Carolyn~
My husband and I have welcomed home two daughters whose marriages went awry. We had many well-meaning comments that hinted at letting them “sink or swim.” They are now both remarried to good men who love and respect them and are independent, whole young women. I believe that it’s all to easy to lose respect for yourself when others lose respect for you and it’s a parent’s lifelong job to validate their children, just as our Father validates us through the multitude of blessings He pours out on us. Thank you for affirming our views on raising faith in such a beautiful way. Blessings, marlene
Such unconditional love should be given by more parents these days. Today at Sav-A-Life was so….I don’t know….HARD! Seeing those young girls walk in for a pregnancy test and seeing the looks on their faces….some scared …..some hard and used. I pray that as parents we can so influence our kids and grandkids that they know we love them no matter what traps the devil lures them into.
Thanks for sharing this Elaine. It’s a beautiful story!
God bless,
Marilyn
Elaine, I have no idea now how you found me or I found you, but my life is being enriched, and profoundly blessed through your friendship, teaching, encouragment and love for your Savior.
I can only offer my humble thanks,
Joy
PS. Your phone call last night was an unexpected delight. Can’t wait to meet you!
Phenomenal!
Love, Hugs and Prayers,
Kennisha
Thank you for sharing your good, bad and ugly. Isn’t that what it is all about? I can’t even imagine having a father that would say “I love you” much less run after me as if to say… “you are my precious jewel, Elaine.” Thank you for sharing your Dad with me today.
Oh, Elaine! This post made me cry as I pictured your father running after you. how precious to be loved like that.
Laura
Once again I’ve been blessed and filled with hope that it’s just a matter of time before our wayward son comes home.
Blessings,
Sandra