Brendin at 20

I remember the day he was born so clearly. If I close my eyes I  can see it   It was a Sunday afternoon. We were in ministry in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but were certain we were not going to church that night.  All the details are not necessary to share here now.  The truth is, it was a bit traumatic and over the next six weeks, I learned more about life and how precious it really is than perhaps I had learned in the 27 years prior.

Truthfully, I probably didn't learn new lessons, but had life-long lessons brought home and made alive like never before.  I thought of my Dad who had died some 14 years earlier and how he loved babies.  He had a way with little ones, and they loved him.  It saddened me to think that he would never meet or hold Brendin or that Brendin would never know him.  I reflected on how he must have felt at my birth and that of my seven other siblings.  I couldn't wrap my mind around that much responsibility, yet was comforted and bewildered by the joy I felt and how much so many births must have brought to him and Mom.   

I remember wondering how I would challenge my youth group to partner with us in raising Bendin to love the Lord.  We were supposed to take the group bowling after worship that night.  When we didn't show up there was pandemonium with all the teens wanting to know what was happening.  In our youthful "wisdom," we had decided on a home birth, so our friends ran interference, giving us space and keeping the teens away.  Our Moms were both with us. What a blessing to have them there.

In quiet moments over the next few days, I reflected again and again on Psalm 139:
        Fearfully and wonderfully made...
        your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
Those words had more meaning to me in the days after Brendin's birth than they ever did before.  They continue to amaze me and make me fall deeper in love with the One who created all things.  As Caleb and Alicia were born three and five years later, I revisited those quiet moments and the memories of my first days with Brendin.  Sitting in peaceful reflection, holding the tiny child and marveling at the perfect little fingers, I would sit speechless, every fiber of my being exuding gratefulness and praise to God for such beautiful gifts given to me.

If I continued to tell stories of Brendin, I could write pages and pages of how he has brought joy into my life and made me proud in so many ways.  Life with him has been an amazing journey of faithfulness and discovery.  He inspires me and gives me hope as I see faith shape him and laugh at the sheer joy of who he is.  It's hard to believe that he is no longer a teenager.  I don't feel old enough to have a twenty year old son, but God has taught me a lifetime of lessons through learning to raise and nurture him.

I am so grateful for all three of my amazing children - God's hand touches me through them daily.  I am deeply blessed by life with an amazing,beautiful wife and a trio of children who far surpass the blessedness I deserve.

Happy 20th Brendin.  You are my gift.