The Protigal Son

I have loaded this picture although it was taken some years ago. The 2 little ones in the picture are the 2 boys that are playing sports in school now. I loaded this picture because I wanted a family picture to tell you about the great news we received today.

Let me start at the beginning...great place to start. Way back, over 23 years ago, Robert and I got married and created a blended family. Robert had 2 boys and I have 2 boys and 2 girls...then a year and a half later we added one of our own...Bubba. After Robert and I got married, we made the decision together that it would be better for Robert to adopt my four kids and we would have a Yours, mine and ours family but it would then be "our" family and everyone would have the last name "DUNN".

The kids were all for it and their Biological father was for it for his own reasons, so we started the paper work and it was done. I wish I could say we all lived happily ever after but the story doesn't stop there. When Heith reached his senior year in high school he had a time of rebelling and went to live with his biological father. He was going through what I would say is a natural reaching out to what he knew to be his roots. He made the choice to change his name back to "Jones". No, I am not kidding that was his given sir name at birth.

It hurt Robert and I deeply at that time but I called Sis. Clay and she reminder me that it was far more important that his name be in the lambs book of life then anything he might be called on earth. I held on to that thought through the years. When the babies came I would think it would have been fun to have these 2 little ones with the same last night as us but I loved the family unconditionally.

We were invited over today and the kids gave us some astounding news. Something I had never thought would happen. Heith made the announcement after lunch that him and his family had petitioned the court to have their last name changed to Dunn. Heith told Robert and I that he was proud of us and that we had done a great job raising him and he thought of Robert as his dad and he wanted to go by Dunn.

Wow, no amount of money would have given us that joy we felt at that moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I cried, Robert cried and Heith walked over to "his dad" and gave him a big, big hug!!

All I could think of was what must our heavenly father feel when we say that we want to be called his child. I had a tiny taste of the joy that he must feel when one of his children comes back to HIM.

Luke 15:31 And he said to him, "Son , you are always with me, and all that I have is yours!

Praise God for the healing of relationships and family in ways we don't even imagine.