June 3

UPDATE: Our nephew was born this afternoon at 3:40.  He and his mom are doing well and everyone is enjoying a 6 pound, 9 ounce gift from God.

Fourteen years ago today I married the man of my dreams and now, fourteen years later I realize that my dreams did not live up to reality.  This man is so much more than I imagined and being married is more wonderful than I had dreamed.  I love Mark more today than I could have comprehended fourteen years ago.  He is my best friend, my biggest supporter and my confidant.   He is exactly what I needed for a life partner and is the best father that I could ever wish for our children.  God is good and words fail me.

Ten years ago today God gave our family another gracious gift, our first son was born.  The first thing that people notice about Matthew is his smile.  He has a wonderful sense of humor as well as a sense of duty.  Matthew loves playing with and taking care of his younger siblings.  He also loves fishing, camping and exploring outside.

When Matthew was four years old, we were reading and praying through the book Window On The World.  When we came to the chapter on India, we read how many Indian children are orphans living on the street and struggling for survival.  As we finished reading we prayed for the people of India and one of our requests was specifically for those orphan children.  Later that day Matthew, who had been saying that he wanted to grow up to be a pastor like Pop Pop (my father), came and told me that he instead wanted to be a missionary to India to help the little children living on the streets.

Matthew has continued to talk about being a missionary to India ever since.  I honestly did not take him seriously at first. He was, after all, only 4.  I didn’t take him seriously until last summer.

Last summer I was taking the children to the library.  I had set up a librarian to take them on a tour and tell them about the different types of research and ways to look up information.  As we were preparing for the trip I asked each of the children to think about what  interested them, what they wanted to look up in the library.  Matthew, now 9, came to me and said, “Mommy, if I am going to be a missionary in India, I think that I should learn more about the people and the country.  So, I want to read books on India.”  From that moment  I realized that I need to take his calling seriously and help him prepare himself to be a missionary to India.

So we thank God and we pray for this child that God gave to us 10 years ago that God will protect him and that he will serve the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

Then today on June 3 again God will, Lord willing, be blessing our extended family with another precious gift, the first boy grandchild who will carry on our fathers name.  My brother and sister-in-law head to the hospital for an induction to welcome their fifth child and first son into their arms.

God is indeed a kind and merciful God who loves to give good gifts to His children, and sometimes, just sometimes He delights to give them on the same date.

Just for the record, not only will my brother’s son share Matthew’s birthday and our anniversary, our sixth child, Sadie, shares a birthday with my brother and our seventh baby, Savannah, was born exactly a year after her cousin, my brothers second child. What are the odds?

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