On Friday night, our family embarked on some good ole’ small town America fun. We went to the Kiddie Carnival in Athens. The same rides have been there for decades, the Lions Club runs it and the admission is free. The sun was hot, the ice cream delicious and the friendly faces were exactly what you might expect in small town Alabama.

The only problem was…I forgot the stroller for John. John is 16-months-old and holding him is a bit like holding a cat. So, Will watched Mary on the rides and I let John roam around, following five to ten feet behind him.

As people saw him, they smiled at the two-foot, red-headed wanderer and the look on their faces was a bit puzzled and intrigued. A look that said, “who is this little fellow and what is his story?” They were probably wondering if he belonged to anyone…was he lost? And everything anyone needed to know about him was answered by these two words from me…“He’s mine.” That’s all I had to say. Then they knew where he came from, they could see he looks like me (well sort of), that if anyone were to knock him down, I would defend him, that he had a home to go to after this, that he belongs, that he is safe, that he is loved, that he is part of a family, that if he were to get lost I would put all of my resources into finding him. You see, he belongs to me. And I simply adore him! When I said, “He’s mine,” I could not help the smile that came across my face. Lucky me! That one’s mine. And he has NO idea how much I love him! He never did a thing to earn my love and I couldn’t love him any more because…he’s mine!

We drove home through the country and saw a beautiful full moon. Mary said it was going home with us and, sure enough, when we got home, she pointed out that it stopped and rested right above our house. Too cute! As I was looking at that full moon over the grassy fields in the car, a little warm fuzzy came over me…The One who spoke that moon into existence…when He looks at me, He says, “That one…she’s mine.” And He says that He takes great delight in me. And when I roam around as a child here, and people wonder what my story is, the answer is summarized in one word…“HIS.” And when you look at Him, you’ll know everything you need to know.

“to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12