Glyndon Lutheran Church

                                        OVER COFFEE

With Kris

You are somebody special!

 I have someone special in my life – his name is Ben, he is my four and half year old, second cousin.  Ben lives in a suburb of Minneapolis.  I was a student at Luther Seminary when he was born; and his mom and dad (who was my mom’s first cousin) asked me to be his nanny.  Between my class schedule and their work schedule I got to be with Ben about 40 hours a week.  In that time I got to watch him grow and develop from 6 weeks to 7 months.  We did a lot together, sang songs, went on walks, listened to a lot of Jack Johnson (which he still enjoys), and a multitude of other things that you do with a little guy.  When I was done being his nanny, I would watch him and his older sister a couple of times a month, some over nights and even went on a some trips with them.  The school that I taught at in Hopkins was where Ben and his sister went..  When Ben would see me in the hall, he would run up and give me a huge hug and announce to his friends that I was his cousin (which of course they knew by that point).  That made him feel pretty special, nobody else had a cousin that worked at the school.  I felt pretty darn loved as well!  Ben and I are quite the pair, I was even one of his first words…except it was “Ris” instead of Kris.

As you could guess, me moving away was hard on both of us, but God was calling me here.  And I knew that I was doing the right thing.  However, I was a little worried that someone else would become the “apple of Ben’s eye”  that I would become just someone that used to be fun to be around.  That I would be simply be a person that is in his scrapbooks from his past.  I realized this  a little bit more one time I called to chat with the family.  I had talked to his mom for a while and she asked if I wanted to talk to the kids.  “Of course!” I said.  She went to where the kids were and said “Each of you gets two guesses of who is on the phone”  Ben and his sister took turns saying various grandma’s and aunts…and my name is never mentioned.  My heart sank, though I was not too surprised.  Then Ben’s mom said “Ben, who is your favoritest person in the world?”  Ben hollered “Kris!” and grabbed the phone and we chatted, I composed myself so he would not sense my tears…tears of joy, I was not forgotten!

 However, there was a pretty big chance that he still without that prompting would not have guessed me.  He doesn’t see me every day like he used to.  People sadly do become forgotten.  To Ben, I am still one of his “favoritest” people – but that may very well change, and in fact, it probably will change sooner than I would like.

I would like to share with you something that I got in an email, I know this may sound a little bit cheesy, but it is true:

“If God had a wallet, he would have your photo in there!   If God had a fridge, your picture would be held up by a magnet.  You’re special, you’re chosen.  To God, you are His “favoritest” person in the whole wide world.   You are the “apple of God’s eye!”

God would not even need those other guesses that Ben and his sister had, God knows when you are calling Him the very second that you do.  You are special, and I know this because “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16  God did that for you.  Now THAT is pretty special!

Blessings on the rest of your day!

Kris Johnson

Glyndon Lutheran Church Vision Statement:

As a family of faith, Glyndon Lutheran Church will be an environment for all believers in their faith journey with Jesus Christ, encouraging them to grow in faith and providing them a place for God's peace to touch and renew.