Solving the world’s problems

Yesterday our family spent a lovely afternoon celebrating a baby dedication. It was the perfect afternoon. The older children watched a movie, the little ones napped. Then the older ones took the younger ones to the park. The “elders”, a mixed group of adults ranging in age from 40-70, with political views both liberal and conservative sat on the tree shaded porch and shared stories, laughed, drank wine, and challenged one another’s assumptions on welfare, taxes, legalized drugs, the foundations of marriage, and the place of religion in democracy and in our personal lives. A beautiful expression of community. It was a time not to be missed. Except for about an hour I did miss it.

At first, I was engaged in a delightful conversation with a woman that I admire. We shared homeschool adventures. We enjoyed each other’s company, but then she had to go home. So there I was, watching my two little ones in the room with the toys. I admit I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. No one had said that I could not join the adults on the porch, but I knew that I would have to be up and down chasing kids, and not a full participant in the conversation. Andy would have been happy to help wrangle children, but he too was enjoying this wonderful dialogue. At some point I made my way to the porch with the girls. Our gracious host, bouncing his little baby son on his knee welcomed me warmly. “Don’t worry, Nicole, we are just solving the worlds problems.” I sighed. I longed to be solving the worlds problems, even metaphorically, with these friends from our church. But then it occurred to me that I was playing a significant role on this day:

“That’s okay,” I replied, “I’m raising the world’s leaders!”