Thankful to have spent time with a child

I left you hanging last week, an occasional bad habit of mine. I’ll wrap it up this week. Promise. If you remember, nine years ago I met little Jessica while visiting the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home in South Carolina. We took to each other quickly and this nine-year-old with the “Angel” necklace stole the heart of a father of three boys. That father being me. On my final visit to the home, I watched as Jessica walked away and wondered if that was it for us. I decided then and there that it wouldn’t be. I invited the kids from Connie Maxwell Home to be my guests at a baseball game. We called it “Connie Maxwell Day” and little Jessica threw out the ceremonial first pitch. I was able to arrange for Jessica to attend a local high school cheerleading camp at one point. The director at the home told me it was one of the best days of her life. But alas I moved away from Greenwood, South Carolina in 2002. And through the years I have often contemplated where my little angel was and what became of her. . . While checking my emails a few weeks back, I saw the name “Jessica” in the message box. And when I clicked, I read these words as a golf-ball sized lump formed in my throat: “Hey Coach Stroupe, I was looking through some stuff and found a ball autographed from you. I do not know if you remember me or not but you made a huge impact on my life. When I was 9, you came to visit me at Connie Maxwell Children’s Home and I remember always being around you. You paid for a cheerleading camp and let me go to baseball games with you and you let me throw out the first pitch. I really looked up to you! My three sisters and I were adopted and I’m now in 12th grade and ready to graduate. It’s crazy how time flies by. Jessica” With a slightly shaking hand, I typed an email back to Jessica letting her know I could never have forgotten her. When her next email included some current pictures, I studied each photo over and over. Jessica isn’t little anymore. She’s a beautiful young woman with the same penetrating eyes. Our lives can sometimes be filled with reminders of mistakes we have made in the past. Memories of irresponsible actions and lost opportunities attempt to haunt us from time to time. But occasionally, a Jessica shows back up in our lives to remind us that God was using us even when we were young and immature by our current standards. And for those moments I spent with a child nine years ago, I am eternally grateful. My palms were sweating nervous beads the night I punched the numbers to call Jessica on the phone. We spoke for a few minutes, chatting about school, her new family, and her potential college choices. She sounded so grown up to me, probably because she is grown up. I held the phone and stared at it a few minutes after Jessica and I exchanged goodbyes. She is no longer my precious little Jessica, but she most certainly is still an angel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P.S. That is a current picture of Jessica at the top of this page.