This is kind of weird, actually writing a Five Minute Friday post on a Friday. It doesn’t happen that often . Usually I’m one of the trailers in the group. This week I’ll probably end up closer to the middle.

Five Minute Friday is designed for Friday writing, specifically five minutes of uninterrupted patter of the fingers representing the thoughts of the heart, soul and mind. Our fearless moderator — with help from her Twitter friends — supplies us with the one word prompt and off we go! When done, we link up at her site (http://katemotaung.com/), then settle in to gently critique and soak in our neighbors’ work. I can’t wait to find new friends this week!

I invite you to join us in reading the wide interpretations and multi-genre presentations of the prompt. Or, better yet, try your hand! It’s five minutes (more or less) with few rules and no obligations. It’s fun (albeit sometimes challenging). It’s networking at its finest.

To help inspire you to join our group, I’ve been including testimonials from writers as outlined in Five Minute Friday: A Collection of Stories Written in Five Minutes Flat. This week, I’ll share some words from Tammy’s heart.

“I am new tot FMF, I just recently heard about it and started participating. I usually miss the Twitter party. It’s a bit late for me 🙂 I am so anxious to learn what the word is, I wind up checking my phone when sleep is disrupted.

“I enjoy the challenge of ‘writing on the fly,’ without space for planing. As a planner, this is a great writing exercise for me.

“I have built community through participating. I am often surprised and delighted with how much traffic my FMF posts receive. It is  safe place to practice y craft and sharpen my skills. FMF has given me a place where I no longer feel like a ‘wanna be writer,’ but a writer!”

This week, the girls came up with PRIVILEGE as the prompt. The timer is set, so it’s time to GO…

I received the news last night. I was going to be a great-grandfather again. My grandson and his wife are expecting a new addition to their growing family in August.

Then I received the prompt. Appropriately, I put the two together and realized what a privilege I have to be part of God’s ever-expanding family. It is a God-given privilege. He trusts us collectively with His precious children.

Now, I will admit, early in my parenting, I may not have thought of it as a privilege. But God blessed Karen and I with five children. There were times when we didn’t know how we were going to feed them and clothe them and keep them safe.

The five have blessed us with 18 grandchildren (including blended families). And those offspring have already produced two great-granddaughters and a soon-to-be great-grandchild.

I know our parents and family and friends wondered how we were going to handle each new addition. Karen and I often accepted each new arrival with the same skepticism. They can’t take care of themselves, we reasoned, how can they take care … STOP

… of another human being, one who needs oh so much more attention.

But as I’ve aged, I have come to realize we had a third peg in our wheel. God was there at every turn. He supplied the food. He supplied the clothes. He helped us shield them from too much harm. Sometimes it was through the generosity of family and friends. Sometimes it was sheer determination. Other times it was truly a miracle. Always He was there.

We are part of each of those children’s God-plans. We don’t always do it right … but we always do it with faith and trust the Lord knows what He is doing. That’s why I call it a privilege as much as a responsibility. He trusts us with His precious children.

Congratulations to Zack and Khristine. It’s a privilege to share in this experience. And it’s a blessing to add another soul to my quiver.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. — Thomas Merton