Dianna Buchwalter

The picture above is a present-day photo of my son,  Jeremy, who captured my heart 14 years ago. The picture below is who I still see.  A toddler - my baby. A cute, orange haired bundle of joy who first gave me the name “Mom.” In two weeks, he will be a freshman in high school. Deep breath. Gulp!  I remember swaddling him. His first steps.  The look of amazement at his first trip to the movie theater.  It’s hard to be prepared for your first child. We can read all the books, buy the best baby products and have the nursery decorated to a tee. But, when that child enters the world, everything changes. We’re scared and excited all at once.  And, somehow, with a little help from those who’ve already been there, prayer and guidance from our Heavenly Father, we eventually figure some of this parenting thing out. Yesterday, after getting advice from a friend, I bought my son an alarm clock. I realize I’m probably behind...

The older I get, the more I seem to reflect on my childhood. One major milestone for me and I assume a lot of youth, was getting my drivers license. I was 15 and my first car was a blue Pontiac Grand-Am. I drove that car until the tires were bald. You couldn’t tell me anything at that age because I knew it all. Yep, I had all I needed in that 4 door car. What an accomplishment it was to have this new found independence and freedom. 15 was also a hard age. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I was stubborn and far from God. I believed in Him but I wanted no part of living the Christian life. The Christian life was boring. I wanted fun and to make my own rules. As I was reading out of 1 Samuel this morning, I had to stop for a moment to ponder on David. A man after God’s own heart. David was the youngest in his family. A shepherd. Most know the story of how David killed the giant, Goliath, with a rock. Some think he was around the age of 15 (give or take a few years). David ki...