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MY FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT I GOTTA WEAR SHADES

Thursday, February 17th, 2011
“. . . when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy.”
—Proverbs 13:12, tlb
It was an extra busy Monday, early in May 1986.1 had spent the prior weekend speaking at a three-day women’s conference sponsored by Campus Crusade in Arrowhead Springs, California. Now I was back home, hurriedly getting ready to leave again almost immediately for an extended trip to Minnesota, where I would speak at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chapel, plus several Mother’s Day banquets in churches in the Minneapolis area.
The trip meant being gone for Mother’s Day, but that didn’t seem to matter a great deal. Barney and his family were going to drop by before we left to wish me a happy Mother’s Day, and Larry . . . well, Larry hadn’t called for five Mother’s Days in a row. He had been gone without a word or trace since January 1980, so I was getting used to it—or so I thought.
And then, as I was packing and going over notes of talks I would give to parents on how we all have to give our kids to God and leave the results up to Him because God never gives the score on a life until the game is over, the telephone rang!
It was Larry! The voice I had longed to hear for so many years said, “I want to come over and give you a Mother’s Day present.”
What a shock! I froze with apprehension! My first thought was, Why now? Why does he want to bring me a present? I bet he’s going to tell me he’s going to marry his lover … or that he has AIDS.
I just didn’t know what to say, so I stammered, “Well, Larry, I don’t know, I’m so busy getting ready to leave for a big trip . . . lots of speaking engagements . . . not sure we’ve got time . . . just a minute, let me talk to Dad . . .”
When I look back on this conversation, I can see the irony, but at that moment, I was confused, stalling for time. For six years I had been speaking to groups all over the country, telling parents to hang in there, that God would bring their wayward children back from the “far country,” and now my own son was finally on the line, and I was telling him I was TOO BUSY to see him, because I was leaving to go speak about having hope and joy when your kids disappoint you!
I put my hand over the receiver and said to Bill, “It’s Larry! He wants to come over and give me a Mother’s Day present. I’m not sure I should let him come . . . what if he wants to tell us he’s marrying his lover … or something even worse?”
Mr. Wumphee just looked at me and said unhesitatingly, “You have him come home!”
I could see Bill wasn’t going to do anything to get me off the hook, so trying my best to sound light and happy, I told Larry, “Okay . . . you can come over.”
The next hour seemed to drag by. Larry had said he was about fifty miles away, but I kept wondering if he would really come. And then I would wonder if it were all a bad dream. I could talk a good game to other parents, but now it was my turn to see if I could really cut the mustard! It was all too good (or maybe bad) to be true!
When the doorbell rang, I almost jumped. How could he be here that SOON? I opened the door, and there was Larry, standing tall, with a clear-eyed look I hadn’t seen for eleven years. But he had no present in his hand, and my heart sank. He had come to give me some kind of news for a gift, and what would that news be? Would it leave me counting roses on the wallpaper again? I invited him in, cautiously, with only a perfunctory little hug—wondering if I should remark about the absent present. As we sat down in the living room, I could see big tears in his eyes, and then I heard his words:
“I want you to forgive me for the eleven years of pain I have caused you. Last week I went to an advanced seminar for Basic Youth Conflicts, and I … I rededicated my life to the Lord. I took all the evidence of the old life, the pictures and everything else to do with the lifestyle—everything—I took it to a fireplace and, while the whole thing was burning, I felt this complete release for the first time in eleven years. I’m released from that bondage I was in, and God has really cleansed me. Now I can stand clean before the Lord.”
What a glorious Mother’s Day present! A gift wrapped in LOVE!
And then Larry gave us a little bonus with news about the young man he had been living with. The night after Larry got his life right with the Lord, his friend went forward at the Basic Youth seminar and received Christ as Savior.
This young man was a brand new Christian and my son had rededicated his life to the Lord! We sat there for a long time and just hugged each other. He had asked for our forgiveness, and we needed his forgiveness as well for our failures to understand his hurts. We were overjoyed to have him back again, and that day a restoration began in our family that is continuing even now.
*60\316\2*

MY FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT I GOTTA WEAR SHADES”. . . when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy.”—Proverbs 13:12, tlbIt was an extra busy Monday, early in May 1986.1 had spent the prior weekend speaking at a three-day women’s conference sponsored by Campus Crusade in Arrowhead Springs, California. Now I was back home, hurriedly getting ready to leave again almost immediately for an extended trip to Minnesota, where I would speak at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chapel, plus several Mother’s Day banquets in churches in the Minneapolis area.The trip meant being gone for Mother’s Day, but that didn’t seem to matter a great deal. Barney and his family were going to drop by before we left to wish me a happy Mother’s Day, and Larry . . . well, Larry hadn’t called for five Mother’s Days in a row. He had been gone without a word or trace since January 1980, so I was getting used to it—or so I thought.And then, as I was packing and going over notes of talks I would give to parents on how we all have to give our kids to God and leave the results up to Him because God never gives the score on a life until the game is over, the telephone rang!It was Larry! The voice I had longed to hear for so many years said, “I want to come over and give you a Mother’s Day present.”What a shock! I froze with apprehension! My first thought was, Why now? Why does he want to bring me a present? I bet he’s going to tell me he’s going to marry his lover … or that he has AIDS.I just didn’t know what to say, so I stammered, “Well, Larry, I don’t know, I’m so busy getting ready to leave for a big trip . . . lots of speaking engagements . . . not sure we’ve got time . . . just a minute, let me talk to Dad . . .”When I look back on this conversation, I can see the irony, but at that moment, I was confused, stalling for time. For six years I had been speaking to groups all over the country, telling parents to hang in there, that God would bring their wayward children back from the “far country,” and now my own son was finally on the line, and I was telling him I was TOO BUSY to see him, because I was leaving to go speak about having hope and joy when your kids disappoint you!I put my hand over the receiver and said to Bill, “It’s Larry! He wants to come over and give me a Mother’s Day present. I’m not sure I should let him come . . . what if he wants to tell us he’s marrying his lover … or something even worse?”Mr. Wumphee just looked at me and said unhesitatingly, “You have him come home!”I could see Bill wasn’t going to do anything to get me off the hook, so trying my best to sound light and happy, I told Larry, “Okay . . . you can come over.”The next hour seemed to drag by. Larry had said he was about fifty miles away, but I kept wondering if he would really come. And then I would wonder if it were all a bad dream. I could talk a good game to other parents, but now it was my turn to see if I could really cut the mustard! It was all too good (or maybe bad) to be true!When the doorbell rang, I almost jumped. How could he be here that SOON? I opened the door, and there was Larry, standing tall, with a clear-eyed look I hadn’t seen for eleven years. But he had no present in his hand, and my heart sank. He had come to give me some kind of news for a gift, and what would that news be? Would it leave me counting roses on the wallpaper again? I invited him in, cautiously, with only a perfunctory little hug—wondering if I should remark about the absent present. As we sat down in the living room, I could see big tears in his eyes, and then I heard his words:”I want you to forgive me for the eleven years of pain I have caused you. Last week I went to an advanced seminar for Basic Youth Conflicts, and I … I rededicated my life to the Lord. I took all the evidence of the old life, the pictures and everything else to do with the lifestyle—everything—I took it to a fireplace and, while the whole thing was burning, I felt this complete release for the first time in eleven years. I’m released from that bondage I was in, and God has really cleansed me. Now I can stand clean before the Lord.”What a glorious Mother’s Day present! A gift wrapped in LOVE!And then Larry gave us a little bonus with news about the young man he had been living with. The night after Larry got his life right with the Lord, his friend went forward at the Basic Youth seminar and received Christ as Savior.This young man was a brand new Christian and my son had rededicated his life to the Lord! We sat there for a long time and just hugged each other. He had asked for our forgiveness, and we needed his forgiveness as well for our failures to understand his hurts. We were overjoyed to have him back again, and that day a restoration began in our family that is continuing even now.*60\316\2*

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