Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

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A Father’s Love

April 28, 2016 by Ellen 12 Comments

Driving down the dusty Mississippi roads, the old car bumped and rattled. The sound of tires crunching on gravel, and the smell of loblolly pine wafting through the open window, bringing back old memories. Memories of rocking his son in the chairs on the screened porch and watching fireflies in the twilight, twinkling through the pines.

But those memories didn’t last long. He’d left Mississippi and his unhappy marriage, and made his way to the oil fields of Texas. A man has to make a living. He hated leaving his first born child, but the baby’s mama wouldn’t part with her family to join him. The marriage ended in divorce.

It’s time, he thought. I haven’t seen my son since he was a toddler. After 18 years, it’s time.

He had sent letters and small gifts to his son when money was available. Many of those were returned unopened. But it was time. His son was a high school graduate, a man now. Hattiesburg High School, class of 1938. His heart swelled with pride, that his boy had finished school.

He’d heard through friends and family that the boy had taken his step-father’s last name. Did his son even know he had a father? Had his mother told him anything? They said his son worked at the local Lance distributor. He would go there after the boy’s shift, and meet him.

There he is! That’s the one they had pointed out to him. That’s his boy! He squashed his nerves down, walked over, extended his hand.
“Son, my name’s Robert Eason. Have you ever heard of me?”
“No sir…?”
“Son, I’m your Dad…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so goes the story of my grandfather, and the day he met his son, my Daddy.

That wonderful story was told time and time again when I was growing up. I never got tired of hearing it. It never got boring to hear how much Granddad loved Daddy. I never got tired of hearing that the name under Daddy’s picture in his high school yearbook was not his own. Daddy didn’t even know he was living under an assumed identity. Not until he met his father.

Isn’t it a beautiful picture of our heavenly Father’s love for us? God will never stop pursuing us. He wants to be reconciled to us. He will even hunt us down! When He finds us, when we finally know our Father, He gives us a new name. God sent us a gift in His Son Jesus Christ. When we accept this gift, we have a new identity in Christ.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

And my Daddy’s response? It should be the response of us all. Daddy embraced his new name and family. He accepted the timeless gift of his father’s love. He and my Granddad built a beautiful, strong relationship through the years. Daddy never again went back to the old name he had known growing up. Forever after, he was his father’s son.

How many of us continue to believe the lie of our false identity, even after we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior, and met our real Father? How many of us continue to think thoughts like this: “There is NO WAY God can take away this quaking fear I have of public speaking? I’ve prayed about it, but it’s still there.”

I have, how about you? Are you continuing to walk in your old identity? The one that calls you Fearful, Less Than, Unworthy?

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him. Colossians 2:6 (HCSB)

It’s time. Let’s stand tall, put on our new name, and walk confidently in it!

Grace be with you,

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Still Crazy (In Love) After All These Years

May 21, 2015 by Ellen 22 Comments

Nineteen years of marriage! On May 25, John and I will celebrate nineteen years of marriage! My, how time flies when you’re having fun! Why, it seemed like just yesterday when…

…I explained ever so lovingly to my sweet Daddy that I would like to have my two brothers walk me down the aisle when John and I married. Daddy had the honor at my first wedding, but he had become more feeble over the years. I knew I would be the one holding him up, if he escorted me.

If you know me, you know I can cry real tears at the drop of a hat. I inherited that tender-hearted trait from my Daddy. I could well imagine him sobbing, hanging on my arm, and shedding rivers of tears, all while I’m carrying him down the aisle and trying not to cry!

In addition, I wanted my two brothers as a “show of force.” I had been through one divorce, and I wanted to make sure John was absolutely positive this would be a “forever” marriage. I’m pretty sure he imagined the brothers with guns hidden under their jackets! And that’s ok. Packin heat …We looked back at our weddings pictures, and saw a stranger! All my family from Mississippi had driven over to Louisiana for the nuptials. I couldn’t wait to see the group shots with my whole family. Every single person!

Turns out, my great-niece had brought one of her little friends along to keep her company. This friend was in EVERY SINGLE family picture we took. As a matter of fact, she showed up in my in-law’s family picture, too!

What a memory! After nineteen years we still laugh about our “adopted” relative in the wedding pictures. Family pic #1 Family pic 2 …I burst into tears on our honeymoon.

No, it wasn’t the nightmare you may be imagining! We went to Natchez, MS, a very historic and quaint town, with many antebellum homes and a slew of antique stores. John and I love to browse through antique shops.

On the way out of one store, I glanced at a picture hanging above the door – and promptly burst into tears! It looked just like a framed picture my Mama had in our home growing up. I had such fond memories of that picture, and eventually Mama gave it to me. I never hung it, because my ex-husband didn’t really care for it.

After the divorce, I had a garage sale, and sold that beautiful picture for $10. Money was tight, and I knew I would need to down-size. A month or so after the sale, I was visiting friends and saw the picture! It was the same, except with a different frame. I asked about it, and they told me it had been in their family for many years. I told them the story of my picture, and selling it for $10.00. They almost fainted. “It’s an antique! It’s worth much more than that!”

When I saw that picture in the Natchez antique store, all the pre-wedding and wedding emotions came pouring out! As we walked around the block, I flooded my new husband with tears, and told him the story of “my” picture. He went back to the store and bargained with the owner to buy the picture. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough cash with us! Not to be outdone, John and I walked up and down the streets of that little town looking for an ATM – and found one. He purchased the picture and gave it to me as a wedding gift! The Picture Mama and Daddy had not known about me having to sell their precious picture. After the honeymoon, I did finally had to ‘fess up. I cried, my Daddy cried, Mama shed a few tears and I think John may have cried a bit himself. Mama and Daddy had loved John from the get-go, because he always opened my car door for me (still does). After they found out he purchased “my” family picture, to be hung on the walls of our home, they loved him even more! Yep, time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (HCSB)

Happy anniversary, John Chauvin!

Until next week,

 

 

 

Joining these lovely writers. Be sure to visit their pages, you’ll be encouraged!

Suzie Eller,  Live Free Thursday

Susan at Dance with Jesus

Barbie at The Weekend Brew

Kelly at Purposeful Faith

Holly at Testimony Tuesday

Holley at Coffee for Your Heart

Jennifer at Tell His Story

Jana at Sweet to the Soul

Bonnie at Faith Barista

 

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