Keep Calm And . . .

"I am never, EVER letting you go again!"

I cannot tell you how many times I heard this come from the mouth of my nine year old son.

And the most amazing part of this?  He was talking to his seven year old brother!  YES!!  Hard to believe, right?

What could inspire such devotion from two brothers who sometimes act like they would love nothing more than be an only child?

Fear.

Last weekend my boys decided they wanted to run the bases after a minor league baseball game.  So, after the game and the awesome post game fireworks, we made our way down to field level where no less than half the kids in the stadium crammed together for their chance to emulate their favorite player.

As the line moves forward and the kids all clamor to be first, the line becomes a wad.  They are bunched up around the girl trying to explain what they are getting ready to do.  Then she tells this mob to form ONE line; that no one will go until they are in a single line.

My oldest crams his body in with everyone else and manages to get in the first to middle part of the line.  My youngest, however, doesn't want to "skip" anyone so he heads to the back of the line.

Immediately, J.D. is in panic mode.  He cranes his neck, stands on his toes and waves his arms while trying to make eye contact with Jon.  When Jon finally spots his older brother a silent argument begins.  J.D. apparently wants Jon to come join him in the front of the line and Jon is adamant about staying where he is.  The fight continues until it is J.D.'s turn to run the bases.

When he gets done running the bases, J.D. finds us and only says, "Where's Jon?"  I point Jon out to him and J.D. is gone again to wait for his brother.

The reunion was heartwarming.  You would have thought they had been separated for a year.  They hugged each other so hard they almost fell over!  That is when I heard, "I am never, EVER letting you go again!"

And I probably heard it a hundred times after that!  J.D. and Jon talked of nothing else.  All. The. Way. Home.  They talked about how scared they were.  They tearfully exclaimed how much they loved each other and how they wouldn't know what to do without the other one.  They even made a plan for the next time they get separated.  Again - All. The. Way. Home. 

"Home" is 35 minutes away from the ball park.  It seemed like an eternity.

Now, don't think I'm terrible.  It was very sweet and I now know that no matter what my kids do to each other on a daily basis, that they really and truly love each other. (Yes, some days I have wondered!)  It does my heart good to know this.

But my boys were really in a panic over a situation that was already under control.  It wasn't a huge deal because my husband and I were watching them.  There is no possible way those two would not have been reunited.  We would not have left one at the ball park.  We had our eyes on both of them the WHOLE time.  But, somehow, the fear of the moment made them forget we were even there.

Isn't that the way we go through life with God?

Everything is gong fine until, well, it's just not.  As soon as that happens we let the fear and the panic take over.  We frantically try to control everything about the situation so the world doesn't end.  And then, when the dust settles and we realize we are still intact, we finally look up.

We look up and see Him.  In that moment, I know that I am not alone.  I know that I was never alone.  I also know that He had everything under control the entire time I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

What a relief!

You know what's an even bigger relief?  To be able to realize this BEFORE I let fear rule in my life.  I need this on one of those "Keep Calm and..." shirts.

But wait, God has already given me one of those:

"[Keep Calm] and Know That I Am God..."  Psalm 46:10

Maybe I will put this on a t-shirt after all!  :)