Chelsea

I think I have learned more about God's love for me through my children than almost anything else in my life.  I have been blessed with two wonderful kids and they couldn't be more different.  Each has a unique and endearing personality and each of them has offered me tremendous joys and diverse challenges. My firstborn is Chelsea.  She is a combination of her mother's fiery, passionate determination and my twisted sense of humor.  When she was growing up, every choice that she made was a battle, because she was determined that it would be her choice.  We butted heads often and rarely saw eye to eye, but I gradually came to realize that when all of the bluster had passed, she almost always made the wiser choice. 
I remember when she was about 12 years old, we were headed to church one Sunday night and the rest of the family was in the car, but Chelsea had dawdled in the house.  After several anxious minutes and a full examination of how many ways I could honk the car horn, she came waltzing out of the house.  As I pulled out of the drive, I looked in the rear view mirror to see my 12 year old daughter's face caked with make-up.  To me this was unacceptable and I began to adamently tell her so as I pulled out into traffic.  I ended my little tirade by saying, "With the beautiful mother and the handsome daddy that you have, you don't need make-up."  Her comeback was quick and priceless.  She gasped, and in a shocked voice, she said, "I'm adopted??????" 
I think the turning point in our relationship came when we merged our church in OKC with Kingspark Baptist and I took on the role of Principal, high school learning center supervisor, and girls basketball coach at Kingspark Academy.   To my delight and to Chelsea's chagrin, I now spent almost every waking hour with her.  We fought our way through geometry, we dealt with the "blessing" of school uniforms, and we learned how to survive the teenage years together.  The one thing that probably did more than anything else to create the bond that we now share was the opportunity that I had to be her basketball coach.  She loved basketball, so she had to put up with me, and together, we were a potent combination.  We dominated Class A of the OCSAA, losing only 3 games in three years to opponents in our own class.  Chelsea was the leading rebounder in Oklahoma and was selected All-State her sophomore, junior and senior years.  We won back to back State Championships her junior and senior years and we had the time of our lives.  Somewhere midway through her senior year, she decided that she would go to Baptist Bible College and play basketball.  Her first two years were outstanding, but her heart wasn't really there.  After her sophomore year, she informed me that she would not be returning to BBC.  She was going to move back to Oklahoma City and get a job.  I thought it was a dreadful mistake, but nothing I said could convince her otherwise.  It was some time before I could see that God had his hand in all of it, but He obviously did.  Through the generosity of Joe Milam, Chelsea was able to attend Platt College and get her Culinary Arts degree.  She developed life-long friendships and settled some heart issues that led her, after two years to return to BBC to finish her Business degree and her basketball career. 
The two year break accomplished several things.  When she returned to BBC, it was on her own terms.  She wasn't there because I wanted her there.  She was there because she had decided she wanted to be there.  It also allowed her to be at BBC for two years with her favorite brother, Bobby, who also plays basketball for the Patriots.  They shared some memories that will last them a lifetime or at least until the statute of limitations runs out.  She was able to finish her career by taking her team to the National Tournament for the first time in over a decade and she was named First Team All-American.  She left BBC as the all-time leading rebounder in Lady Patriot history.
But you might say, what about the 'God' part? Well, in December of her senior year at BBC, she was home for the weekend when Dave and Regina Etter were in our services.  The Etters have a restaurant in China and also are working in North Korea.  They asked Chelsea if she would like to come and work in their restaurant and do some basketball clinics at the local University.  So as a result of the two year hiatus that Chelsea took, God opened a door for her to spend almost 5 months in the Philippines and China and He has burdened her heart to return there someday soon.
I love to see what God is doing in her heart these days.  He is opening doors for her and providing for her in all kinds of awesome ways.  It looks like He is about to provide her with a whole family of tutors in Mandarin Chinese. He's given her a job that matches her quirky personality, working as a personal assistant to an excentric Texas oil man.  She once spent all day, making a pretty good wage to photoshop the faces of her boss's friends onto various and sundry movie characters.
She is also my technological guru, although Bobby fills this role as well.  When I decided to start this blog, she helped me get it set up and then made several suggestions as to possible names.  "Chelsea is my Favorite...and other Confessions of a Lakeside Shepherd" was one.  "Wisdom from the Voice of the Coyote" was another.   Needless to say, I came up with the name Crossing Honey Creek on my own.  She disapproved.
She has challenged me to run a 5k.  My lifelong policy has been that I don't run unless someone really mean and nasty is chasing me, but I felt like I had to keep my winning streak in races against Chelsea alive.  Of course, the last time we raced, she was 8 and I cheated.  So, I'm not sure how this one is going to turn out. 
We are going to run a 5k in Longmont, Colorado on April 17th.  So pray that I can finish without a visit to the ER.
To wrap this up, just let me say that seeing the woman that Chelsea has become is worth every battle that we ever fought.  She is a beautiful woman, a passionate Christian, a loving and faithful friend, and the best daughter that a dad could ask for.  And....she makes me laugh.
Next time, you'll have to let me tell you about my son, Bobby.  He is just as amazing!