Happy Birthday, Baby!

Thirty-something years ago the biggest blessing of my life came into this world.  I had yet to be born and the plan for my life had already begun. The man that would be my husband, my best friend & confidant was beginning his own journey through life on the eve of Christmas. 

I am sure it's because of the season we are in, but when I think of Bonnie bringing her tiny bundle home that night, I always think of Mary. Two women with newborn babies, the futures unknown to them but fully known by the One who ordained them.  Obviously, Christ's life and purpose was vastly different from my husbands, but both births have changed my life forever.  I've often wondered how different life would be if these incredible women hadn't followed God's plan for their own lives.

Mary showed amazing faith and courage in her decision to trust God and bring a baby into the world. To raise and love Him with all her being and yet fully surrender Him at the same time.  To learn of a fate that she had no control over and witness the wrath of God laid upon Him alone in order to save those He loved....us.  As a mother, this is beyond comprehension for me, but I am thankful for her strength. I am thankful for her obedience, and I am thankful for Christ.

I am sure the last thing on Bonnie's mind that December night was how her life & decisions as a mother would affect Eric's future wife & children.  What I am sure of is that she prayed. She prayed for her children, for her abilities as a mother, for guidance from the Lord, for patience, strength and endurance.  She, like us and all other moms, had moments of weakness, weariness and craziness... and in those times she trusted.  Trusted that God had heard her prayers, was walking with her and that He had a perfect plan for her and her children.  Like Mary, there came a point in the lives of each of her children where she had no control over the decisions they made or the path they would take.  She just had to continue to trust in God's faithfulness, praying for the Truth to be made real in their lives and that all she & Pete had strived to teach them would remain.

Eric- Kindergarten

And remain it has. The loving way Eric interacts with our children, his unwavering faith in Christ & what is right, his commitment to family, the perfect balance of strength and tenderness he offers to me in marriage and his amazing work ethic are the ultimate result of parents that were intentional about the task of raising him and trusting God to guide him.  I pray that I can be that for my own children. That when I talk to them, discipline them and pray for them I would think not only of the here and now, but of the eternal impact.  I am not just molding my own children, but generations of them. What a blessing and what a burden!

Eric, I know that you haven't always liked having a birthday so close to Christmas, but I am so thankful for the very real way it makes me consider Mary and the birth of Jesus.  I am daily challenged by you to be better, not because I am afraid I don't measure up, but because you make me feel confident enough to try. Happy Birthday, Baby. I love you!