No this is not a ketchup commercial, but it is the state we live in.  We have anticipated Fall and it got here.  We anticipated football season, and it got here. We have anticipated meeting with friends and family and those things have come to pass.  So how do we feel now?

Someone once shared with me that disappointment is the distance between expectation and reality.  We expected Fall to be cool and crisp… oh well.  We expected the Vols to be better… oh my!  We expected meetings with our friends and family to help fulfil us… as for me and my house, that has been a pleasant surprise.  Soon the Bell Family will welcome another member.  My son Jordan and his beautiful wife Rachel are anticipating the arrival of a bouncing baby boy.  He will be the only boy Bell of that generation.  He will be dearly loved by his parents, grandparents, and great- grandparents.  Just anticipating the birth of this little boy has already meet expectations. As you can imagine, my precious wife is going bananas.  You see this is our first grandchild.

As for me, I think it will hit me like a ton of bricks (that is a good thing).  I am excited about my first grandchild, but I can’t help but think, where has the time gone. Those three little blond-haired kids that would walk around with us at station events have now formed their own families.  Each of these couples have formed their own family traditions with their own unique characteristics.   The one thing they have in common is a deep abiding relationship with Christ.  So, whether they are southern Baptist, Anglican, or Church of the Nazarene… they are Christ followers and they will teach their children to do likewise.  To quote Dennis Rainey of Family Life Today, Meg and I are enjoying our empty nest but sometimes we can sit back and relax and still hear the laugher in the walls. 

So alas, expectations have been met and God has blessed us more than I can imagine.  To my soon to be born Grandson – Bjorn, I pray that you have the blessing of following Christ all the days of your life.  And your old pop, will be glad to tell you stories of days gone by.  See you soon grandson!