Borrowed Beauty
Later this year, I will hit a milestone birthday – the big 4-0! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve thought about it too much. Although maybe I’m giving myself too much credit. After all, my blog post today is starting with this thought.
At any rate, something happened last night that made me feel old. Many of you know my daughter, Hannah, or have an idea of who she is thanks to my blog. Next month, she will turn 14. This is part of my aging process. It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital in her car seat and sweater outfit that Grammy made for her. Well, she’s not a baby any more. My Sweetie is turning into quite a beautiful and caring young lady.
Yesterday as part of her Columbus Day holiday, she went Halloween costume shopping with Leanne at our local Goodwill store. She came home with this beautiful red evening gown that she purchased for $20 with her own money. After dinner last night, she tried in on for me. Wow! How did we go from a baby sweater to a flowing red gown so fast? As I hugged Hannah and commented on her beauty, I asked her not to grow up so fast. She smiled as if to say, “I can’t help it, and I’m proud of who I’m becoming.”
I’m proud of her as well. As Leanne and I were talking about Hannah later last night, Leanne reminded me that Hannah is really on loan from God. God gave us Hannah and Isaac to nurture and support for a little while, but they were never fully ours from the beginning. They belong to God. I’m so thankful for the chance to borrow these two amazing kids. And yes, I will cherish each moment and day I get to spend with them.
How do you look at your kids?
What’s something you are borrowing that will one day need to be returned?
About
You might be wondering where the “Stretched” thing comes from. For starters, when I was in high school at Rancocas Valley Regional High School, I was short – 5’6″ to start my junior year. Since then, I’ve grown to almost 6’6″. Many of my friends started calling me Stretch.
On a more recent basis, I often feel “stretched” by all the things going on around me – career, marriage, parenting, church, running, reading, friendships, extended family, relationship with God, etc. (in no particular order). My hope is that this blog will provide an opportunity to express some of my “stretch marks” and to possibly hear your thoughts as well. 
So here is a bit more about me: I’m a Christ-follower, husband, dad, son, uncle, engineer, runner, chicken farmer, gardener, saxophone player, operations manager, adventurer, and the list goes on…. I’m extremely blessed to have the best wife in the whole world. We met at Grove City College. We were engaged on top of the Eiffel Tower. We got married in Greensburg, PA. Now, we live in Schwenksville, PA with our two incredible kids, and our black lab.
Jon Stolpe Stretched 