Finding Faith ... in the Mac & Cheese

The other night, after I had returned from six days on the road, our 17-year-old son came traipsing up the stairs from his bedroom as he often does about 10:30 at night.

"I'm hungry," he said with his knowing smile. The smile that says, "I know you tell me all the time that I am old enough to make my own food, but I also know that if I give you the right smile, you cannot refuse doing it!" ... He has that smile. The one he knows will move me or his step-mom to do things for him that he's fully capable of doing.

But, to be honest, in that moment, I felt the Spirit moving. As I said previously, it was the first night back for me after having been gone for six days for work. And the week before that I was at seminary for a week-long intensive class. And so out of the past two weeks, I'd only seen him one night. Our son splits time at our house and his mom's house, and so with his busy schedule and my crazy, chaotic schedule, moments like this are rare.

My Spideydad senses told me there was more at play here than just our son being too lazy to make his own macaroni and cheese (white cheddar shells variety only please!). ... My Spideydad senses told me that this was our son's way of saying, "Dad, I like it when you tease me about never being able to live on my own, and the playful fun that takes place while we're standing in the kitchen over the stuff."

You, see, our son is pretty typical for a teenage boy. Sit down one one one and he can't tell me what's new in his life. School is just school. His weighlifting team is just his weightlifting team. His girlfirend is just his girlfriend. ... And heaven forbid, get into any topic deeper than that. Those discussions would require more than his monotone grunts for answers!

But somehow, when we enter the kitchen and dad is there to make him some late night mac and cheese that would equate to his fifth meal of the day, the situation changes. The mood lightens and it's not dad quizzing him about stuff any longer. It's just dad and the kid that he once nicknamed "Bug," but who now stands about 6'4" and 225 pounds. It's just 10 minutes of dad doting on a son that he rarely sees nowadays, and a son soaking in the attention.

That was a good moment. That was about more than mac and cheese. And its those moments that I am going to miss the most in a year and a half when he is off to college.

And that is why I found faith in the mac and cheese. ... Amen.