Today my oldest son turns 30.  It seems quite impossible that those years have passed since he blessed me with his presence. At first we did not have a name for him but decided upon Matthew- which means “gift of God”.

 I was quite young when I had him just shy of my 22nd birthday. And as a young mother I worried. I remember getting up in the middle of the night; his crib was at the end of the small bedroom. I watched him, making certain he was breathing, he was still there, this little miracle that had come into my life.

 I knew my worry was just that- unjustified, random without basis in reality.  He was perfectly healthy. But still I stood watching and my worry grew, until I heard a voice.  The voice was warm and gentle and not entirely inside my head. The voice spoke and said, “Do not worry; he will be with you for a long time.” The worry evaporated as I stood stunned. Certainly I did not fabricate this, I had heard these words and they brought me comfort.

 It was a comfort I would lean on many times as our lives grew apart and he followed his heart wandering the world.  He has traveled far and wide, most recently Thailand and India. And I know in my heart he is protected by the unseen forces of God’s love, the Angels. In this I do not worry, for he walks amongst the Angels here on earth.