Believe

I have blogged about my middle child, Matthew, before, but once again he gets his very own post. We recently came back from Sea World where we saw our favorite show three times in two days. We had to go see the Shamu show that many times because each of us is always amazed at their beauty, and majesty.

So we were on the way to see Shamu when one of the workers steps out of the shade (yes Sea World has a few trees that offer shade). She comes up to us and asks if we are on the way to the Shamu show. I responded with a yes and kind of wanted her to go on about her way because she was slowing us down and keeping us from getting prime seats in the splash zone. But she didn't. She persisted and asked us if we thought Matthew would be interested in being a part of the show. This was just after Chris and Mark had come off of the steel eel. Matthew hates roller coasters so he didn't want to ride it. However, he hates feeling left out--so he was kind of down. But when she asked Matthew if he wanted to be part of the show he reacted very shyly, like he doubted that he could do what was required of him. So I asked him if wanted to go on stage and he shook his head yes. Jennifer, the lady who approached us, said that the trainer would ask Matthew four questions-nothing hard. Then she would give him a necklace and he could finish watching the show from the stage. We even had special seats reserved for us.

The title of this year's show is Believe. The premise is that a little boy who lives on the coast dreams of seeing Killer Whales. He even carves a set of tale flukes and turns it into a necklace. Finally, one day as he is watching the ocean, this boy sees the flukes of a killer whale. So he sets out in a little canoe and actually sits in the ocean while these magnificent creatures swim and jump out in the distance. After the little video, a trainer comes up and tells of how she had a dream when she was young, growing up on the coast in Washington, of being a killer whale trainer. And finally she was one. She further went on to talk about this one particular whale with whom she has bonded and how lucky she feels she is. She told the audience that she she was so glad she never stopped believing that her dreams could come true. Then she went off to perform a little act with the whale that she was talking so fondly of.

After that, several other trainers continued performing with their particular whale. That is when she came up into the stands and got Matthew. She took him down to the stage and asked him the four questions: Q1-What is your name? A-Matthew. Q2-Where are you from? A-Lubbock, Texas. Q3-Do you have a dream? A-To be a killer whale trainer (last month it was a fire fighter). Q4-Who did you come here to see? A-Shamu. She then told him that she knew his dreams would come true as long as he always believed. Then she handed him a set of tale flukes carved out of wood. They were made into a necklace and on the flukes the words DREAM BIG were written. From there Matthew got to finish watching the last ten minutes of the show from a vantage point that many would pay big bucks for.

I sat there and cried the whole time. I thought to myself of God's unfailing love (even when we fail). I thought about all of the struggles Matthew has had and how each hurdle we made it over gives way to yet another set entirely. I thought about that night when we just "KNEW" Mark would grow up to be a major star, and I felt the Lord so plainly asking me "and what about Matthew?" I remembered that as I began praying for Matthew, God gave me this amazing vision of Matthew doing great things for many people--drawing them to God. God recalled all those things to my heart and I just cried. It was no coincidence that Matthew was chosen out of hundreds of possible children to participate. Neither was it coincidence that the title of the show Matthew was chosen to take part in was called Believe. . The Lord was reminding me, Chris, and Matthew to never stop believing.

I do not know if Matthew will indeed grow up to be a killer whale trainer or a fire fighter or a "restaurant worker like his daddy". But what I am certain of--what I say today and know will happen tomorrow--is that Matthew is pre-destined to do great things for God. And he already is. I truly can't wait to see Matthew in action. And if he does happen to be a killer whale trainer, I will sit in the splash zone for every show!