The two see each other. How long has it been? Too long. But now, they have caught one another's gaze. They race toward each other, arms outstretched.
"Oh, Noah!"
"Oh, Rebekah!"
And the two embrace.
Moments later, the two race across the Pergo floor, hand-in-hand and start building a new neighborhood with the wooden blocks.
My son came home on Saturday, and both Mom and Dad were emotionally exhausted. My wife was also physically exhausted, as she couldn't sleep most of the time she was in the hospital.
But it was the scene above that made all of the frustration, all of the scared feelings, all the weariness disappear. When I brought home my other three kids, my daughter, who is not quite two, saw my son after almost three days...and couldn't help but go give him a huge hug.
Not only was the whole event cute as could be, but it reveals something truly amazing about the power of family. Nevermind that most of the time my two youngest find ways to simply annoy each other, push each other, take toys from one another. Despite all of the tribulations that come with a family, there is love. As it says in 1 Corinthians, "...and the greatest of these is love."
It only took a day of being back for my son to start pushing my daughter around again. Yet, she still plays with him. Ah, the power of love.
