Nathan's Reunion Parable

- Dedicated to children that are unjustifiably isolated from their families -

Once upon a time, God in His goodness graced a loving couple with a son they cherished deeply.

Nathan was a bundle of energy immediately upon leaving the womb. As he began to grow and develop in his early years, he had the gifts of intellect, emotions, and will in abundance. He knew exactly what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it. By the same token, you could see in Nathan’s smile that God had bestowed upon him an abundance of love and compassion.

As is customary in God’s plan, boys and girls form unique and intangible bonds with those adults who discern that their vocation in life is to guide, uplift, and encourage His children. Grandparents especially understand this; so it was not unusual for Nathan and his Grandpa to become best buddies in short order.

Nathan and Grandpa did everything together. They rode bikes, went to the park, visited amusement parks, assembled Thomas the Train, visited the play area at the mall, and had more fun than most people do in a lifetime. Nathan loved his Grandpa and Grandpa loved his Nathan.

Once when Nathan was 4 years old, they took their bikes down to the edge of the Preserve where the reindeer lived. They wanted to feed them some bananas so Rudolph and his friends would be nice and healthy when Santa came for them on Christmas Eve.

Just when Grandpa was about to toss one of the bananas along the reindeer path, Nathan started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Grandpa wanted to know. “You didn’t peel the banana first,” Nathan said. “You’re funny, Grandpa,” Nathan joked, and then Grandpa started laughing too. It was that kind of best friendship.

Not many would argue that “kids say the darndest things” and Nathan was no exception. When his parents returned from a trip up north, the feisty four-year old was asked how he liked spending time with Nana and Papa, his other grandparents. True to his outspoken form, Nathan blurted out, “I like Grandpa best.”

Well you can imagine the earth-shattering shockwaves that pierced the egos of everyone who heard Nathan’s innocent comment. It’s what happened in the subsequent weeks and months that defies explanation.

It was determined that Grandpa was a threat to Nathan’s emotional development and the decree was handed down that the two best buddies could only get together under “supervised visitation.” The reasons were plentiful: Nathan and Grandpa were too close; Nathan only listened to Grandpa and no one else; and, Nathan was a behavior problem at home because Grandpa let him do anything he wanted.

Of course, all of that was jealous rubbish. What Grandpa did that others didn’t seem inclined to do was this: Grandpa spent time with Nathan; he listened to him, talked with him, and reasoned with him. Using his background as a therapist, Grandpa understood Nathan and kids like him. When Nathan behaved for his Grandpa, it was because he wanted to and understood why, not just because he was told to do something.

Naturally, any counselor would have concluded the same things Grandpa did --- playing the game of “supervised visitation” would only exacerbate the problem and would be detrimental to Nathan in the long term.

Time went by and both Nathan and Grandpa were held hostage by selfish and misplaced motives. Before there could be a resolution to the dilemma, events took a tragic turn.

Grandpa was late driving home from work one night. It was rainy, foggy, and while he was temporarily lost in thought, praying to God for a resolution to the emotional devastation that crippled him, a drunk driver swerved his truck in Grandpa’s lane and the head-on collision killed him instantly.

Nathan was five years old and didn’t really understand why Grandpa had to go to heaven. But as he grew older, he remembered how they used to feed Santa’s reindeer in the Preserve and ride the trains in the amusement parks.

Not only that, Grandpa left Nathan a book of letters describing the mistakes and miracles in his life and offering some helpful advice to Nathan that he used throughout the years.

Nathan grew up to be a happy and well-adjusted young man. He found a vocation he loved, married and raised a family, and became a Grandpa himself. And while he remembered to peel the banana when he took his grandkids to feed Santa’s reindeer, he always kept his Grandpa close to his heart. He knew that one day, in heaven, they would be reunited again for all eternity.