December 15, 1999
DOWN HOME:
One body just won't do,
but it's all we can handle
___Sometimes, one body doesn't seem to be enough.
___For some divine reason, God created people to live in both time and space. Don't even try to consider how life could be otherwise; it'll just give you a headache.
___However, if you've ever simultaneously (a) been married, (b) had children and (c) held down a job, you know what I mean: You've had to be in at least two places at once.
___Joanna and I encountered this time-space conundrum just the other evening.
___The Baptist Standard "family"--our board of directors, staff, retirees and a few friends--celebrated Christmas with a wonderful banquet in the beautiful fellowship hall of a nearby church. We enjoyed a delicious meal, conversation and laughter, and glorious music.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___Meanwhile, closer to home, Molly, our 13-year-old seventh grader, played her flute in her first full-blown, everybody-go-over-to-the-high-school-auditorium band concert.
___So, Jo and I found ourselves in that age-old parent trap: We both needed --and, more importantly, wanted--to be in two places at the same time. On the one hand, not only is the Standard banquet a job function, it's a fellowship highlight of the year. And on the other hand, our daughters are the delights of our lives, and we want to support them every way we can.
___We wound up doing what you probably would have done. We decided to divide and conquer. Jo attended the band concert, and I went to the banquet. We both had a splendid time.
___And we both felt a little guilty. Jo wanted to support my work as well as visit with dear friends. And I wanted to hear my young prodigy (in her daddy's ears, at least) perform with the band.
___I turned out to be the lucky one, because we bought a tape of the band concert, and I'll be listening to it on the way to work before long. Jo, however, didn't get a dessert from the banquet. Coconut-pecan tortes don't hold up to well if you carry them off in a suit-coat pocket, so I didn't try.
___That night as I lay in bed, I thanked God for three things:
___I'm blessed by the steadfast love and support of my wife, who makes the task of raising children much more simple and pleasant than I ever could imagine. I stand in awe of loving single parents who find themselves--figuratively if not literally--torn in pieces by the demands of parenting.
___Jo and I are blessed by an abundance of riches. God is good to allow us to choose between an evening with friends and a night at the concert.
___And we're all blessed by the never-ending presence of our heavenly Father, who can be all places, including by our sides, at once.
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