Ten years ago tonight a nurse placed this tiny bundle of a baby boy in my arms for the very first time. 6 pounds and 15 ounces of flesh and bone and blood housed a giant of a soul that we are only now beginning to witness in its full unfurling.
Not too long ago, I walked into a room in our house to find Max sitting there still and quiet, with tears streaming down his face. "What's wrong, Max?" I asked. He looked up. His eyes met mine and I could see the grief in his eyes; he allowed me in with a level of transparency that most of us adults have forgotten is possible.
"I've been self-righteous," he told me with the tears still streaming down his cheeks.
Tonight, this boy-man and I sat in the dark on the sidewalk in our front yard and watched a supermoon full lunar eclipse together on his tenth birthday. I had one of those moments where I sucked in a deep breath, closed my eyes and tried to freeze time with my ten-year-old. Astronomers say the next time an eclipse like this occurs will be 2033. Maximus will be 28 years old.
Maximus, tonight I'm praying that if we are still hanging out in this old world in 18 years, that the next supermoon full lunar eclipse will find you as a man who has a heart for God, who walks in the Spirit and who spreads the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere you go. I love you, Max. Happy 10th birthday!
