Fifty Years Ago
It’s still hard for me to believe that September 18 is my son Greg’s 50th birthday. Born as Gregory Scott at the Mary Breckenridge Hospital in Hyden, Kentucky, he entered the world on a Sabbath afternoon at a whopping weight of nine pounds. We were astounded by the size of this baby, as were our family and friends. Not an “overdue” baby, Greg was born on his exact due date. I was awakened by contractions at 3:00 a.m. that Sabbath and delivered him ten hours later.
As I look back over the past fifty years of Greg’s life, I can see that even as he was growing up, he was a gentle soul—patient, kind, and always with a love of laughter. He was very protective of his little sister Janelle, and they were very best friends growing up in our holler in southern West Virginia. After all, if you attend home school with your little sister, and then play together with your little sister, it’s either love or lose.
It was love.
I have a cassette recording of Greg at the age of three. He was using a tape player and making a recording for his California grandparents, while his sister was crawling toward a block building he had carefully created. As she was reaching to deconstruct his prize, you can hear his little voice pleading with her, “Please, Janelle. Don’t knock it down. Please!”
Another time, Janelle was on the roof of their outdoor daddy-built playhouse threatening to slide off the metal roof on her sled—which would have been a drop of about six feet—while Greg stood on the ground, begging her to stop. Thankfully, she chose not to go through with her plan.
Greg loved to be read to, was musical, and sang duets with Janelle in our little church in Williamson, West Virginia. He also learned to play the trumpet from his grandfather, a musician and band director, later taking several years of private lessons.
Some words that describe Greg are: responsible, dependable, likeable, a hard worker, an entrepreneur, creative, and a joy to be around.
I remember when he was four and we were living in Michigan. He saw his father and me having our own personal devotions. He desired to do what was being modeled, so he found a Bible and sat down on the living room sofa, worshiping his Heavenly Father from the desires of his heart.
Fifty years have slipped by. How could those years travel so fast? Yet what a joy it is to now live near Greg and work at 3ABN part-time in our retirement years, experiencing his care and concern, help, and advice for us.
Just as we can take delight in our children and those dear to us, our Heavenly Father delights in us, too. “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation” Psalm 149:4.
I also like this lovely promise found in Zephaniah 3:17, “‘The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.’”
Isn’t that a beautiful picture—God rejoicing over us with singing? How dear to God’s heart are His earthly children, as we rest in His loving care, continuing to ask that He make us like Him and fill us with His Holy Spirit.
Thank you, Kindling Blog reader, for allowing me to indulge in sharing some memories of my son.
And happy 50th birthday, Greg!