I want to get my son a stupid Burberry shirt.
Now before you get to judging me, hold tight. I said I WANT to get him one, not that I’d BUY one.
My 14-year-old son has always had an eye for the expensive. (I can’t blame him, though. I do, too).
But I ain’t in that tax bracket (yet) that can afford us the fancy things in life all the time. Still, my kid is a pretty blessed kid. Between his dad and I, my parents, his Godmom, my sibs, family, and friends, he has never had a need that wasn’t met. He really can’t WANT for much either because he has a nana that would probably search the Bermuda Triangle to get him what he wanted if that’s what it took (and yes, that’s a stretch I know, but his nana real extra y’all, lol).
Anyway, so what led to the shirt conversation really stemmed from a lie.
Picture this.
It’s Saturday and being the amazing, cool mom that I am, I agreed to pick up Ethan’s friend to go to Six Flags with us along with my fam. Ethan act like he HAS to look on point (for people he sees everyday🙄) so he expressed excitement over some shirt that had supposedly come in from his SHEIN order. (We love some SHEIN in our house). So, I’m like, whatever, cool. I didn’t even really pay much mind to what he had on. I just made sure he looked presentable before we walked out the house.
Off we go to pick up his friend. We pull up. Ethan jumps out. He says he’s going to get his friend. I wait and wait and wait. I ain’t trippin’ probably for the first time in my mama life cuz I accounted for a little buffer time.
Out he and his friend come and Ethan has on this red shirt where I see a thinnnn strip of fabric that looks so familiar and I think to myself, Burberry, but I kind of ignore it. I PROMISE y’all, my memory be poo, but I believe Ethan saw me staring at him, so before getting in the car, he tells me he ordered the shirt from SHEIN.
“How it look, ma?”
My response, “Looks cute; now y’all get in and buckle up.”
It’s a week or so later and I’m folding clothes that I washed. I see the infamous red shirt.
I look inside the tag—Burberry.
Now whyyyyy…You ain’t got to lieeee, Craig! (If you ain’t seen Friday, shame on you, lol). Anyway, I’m internally a little hot cuz seriously though…why lie to me, especially about a dang shirt??! I’m DETERMINED to get to the bottom of it.
So I pick Ethan up from school and I try to jog his memory about how he told me that shirt came from one place when it was really borrowed from his friend.
“Ohhhhh. My bad, ma. I did order a shirt from SHEIN, but I borrowed that one. My bad.”
I patiently told him not to ever lie to me again especially over a dang shirt. I also told him to make sure it gets back into the hands of his friend.
“Yes ma’am,” I hear from the back seat.
The next day, in the wee hours of the morning, I’m on the SHEIN site seeing if I can buy a dupe of the shirt.
No luck.
I take a chance on looking up the real thing and my mind is like HECK nahhh.
$660.00 for a SHIRT? A SHIRT with a little strip of fabric indicating it’s fancy and expensive??!!
And I know this sounds dumb, but I still wish I could get him that shirt. And the reason why popped up in my head so quietly and so sweetly….
Because I love him. Because he’s mine.
Ethan is my son and I want to give him whatever is in my power for me to give him. I want him to feel loved. I want him to know the truth about finances and that I ain’t no money tree (and oh, trust me, he knows this), but that don’t stop me from wanting to make sure he’s good. He don’t even know what I gotta do or sacrifice or how I’ve had to move stuff around to ensure he’s taken care of. He don’t know how much it brings me joy to be able to just DO for him.
I love to bless my son just for the simple fact that he’s mine and I’m happy I get to be his mama.
All this reminds me of someone else, though—-
God.
“Because you are precious in My sight, You are honored and I love you, I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.”- Isaiah 43:4 AMP
Man that’s good to me. But them verses prior.. straight fire 🔥 y’all
“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” -Isaiah 43:1-3 NLT
Wow. Just wowwww.
God loves us, US! We’re His! We belong to Him. We’re loved by Him. He does whatever is necessary to pursue us, comfort us and free us.
God really is the best parent.
Now for anyone doubting what I’m saying, for those whose shoes I haven’t walked in or whose heart’s pain I may never feel.. This is for you to accept, too.
Yes, I haven’t walked in your shoes, but I walk in mine every single day and my life ain’t exactly been no stride in the park.
I’ve had amazing days. I’ve had ok days. I’ve had some pretty sad and low days, too.
My heart may not know your pain, but I have my own. I’ve been betrayed. I’ve been abandoned. I’ve seen so many disappointments. I’ve felt the harshness of words and I’ve witnessed the lack of love being shown in action. I’ve had my heart broken so bad before that I thought I’d NEVER recover.
But God.
If you’re still here, there’s a “but God” for you as well.
He’s still the same God that can heal hearts.
He’s still the same God that can provide.
He’s still the same God that wants to give us good things, good gifts, a future and a hope and like Ethan, we’ve not always done right either.
We too sometimes lie. Sometimes we hurt people. Sometimes we mess up. But God STILL wants to love and bless us.
Why?
Because He loves us. Because we’re His.
Let’s worship and love this God who ain’t charging Texas state fair coupon prices for His love. He ain’t asking for a lump sum of something that we can’t give in exchange for His love. He just wants our “yes”.
After all He’s done to keep you, why not give Him that response?
Let’s open our hearts to the One Who loves us without conditions.
Let Him love you, now and forever.
God, You are so so good. Thank You for giving us a love we could never pay for. Thank You for sending Jesus to give His life so that what we DID owe has officially been marked, “paid in full.” What did we ever do to deserve a love like this? Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You that we can truly be anxious for nothing because You are in control of everything.
May our hearts be forever open to receive everything You want to give simply because You love us.
I’ll love You forever, Daddy.
Love,
Your daughter Key♥️
Love this 💞