he got the desire of his heart

The Tale of Three Trees always makes me cry. ALWAYS. I read it to Blake tonight for his bedtime story and got all choked up, and of course he's at an age where he can be deeply concerned by this, wrapping his arms around me tightly to reassure and console me.

It's such a lovely story. One tree grows with the goal of being used for a treasure chest, one grows to be used as a mighty ship for kings, one simply wants to be the tallest tree in the world so that folks will see her and lift their eyes to heaven and think of God. The first is chopped down and made into a manger. The second, a humble fishing boat. The third, a cross. I think you might be able to see where this is going. The manger holds the greatest Treasure the world has ever known. The second has a passenger who stops a violent storm with one word and knows he is carrying the King of heaven and earth. And when people see the third tree, they think of God.

I guess it makes me cry because of the tenderness and love that are woven through the story, though not specifically mentioned. God knows the desires of my heart and how to answer them better than I do. His answers may not look the way I imagined... they can be even better, albeit at times more painful.

In semi-related news, we had a very big day yesterday. The three of us went to court. I was sworn in and had to testify on the witness stand. Both Rob and Blake were asked if they agreed with the order. They answered yes, Blake's name was legally changed, and we all went out to celebrate at IHOP before dropping B off at school. We're all Bedfords now, and the only thing that made the dressing up, hair combing, and speaking to a judge even remotely worth it for Blake was the promise of IHOP. He had almost come to tears at my description the night before and what would be expected of him ("And the judge might ask you a few questions, but it will be okay - Dad and I will be right there with you. They'll probably be really easy questions."), and he said he didn't want to go.

Baffled, I reassured him lavishly, and said, "Well, you have to - that's part of the deal. But Dad and I wanted to take you out for IHOP afterwards, and if you don't go, I'm not sure we can still do that." He quickly suppressed a smile through his watery eyes and bounced up: "I heard they are giving away Lorax seeds. I really hope that they come with pancakes and that I can get some and grow them. But I don't think it's REALLY a Lorax seed. I bet they're seeds to something else. THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DAY EVER! My very first time at IHOP!!"