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New Babies
By Julie | October 17, 2007
From the lips of child and infants you have ordained praise,
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:2
There has been a little more praising is this world for the last couple weeks, yesterday ushered in more. On October 1, Marc and I welcomed a new niece into our family. His sister had a beautiful baby girl. Yesterday, we received a new nephew. My brother’s wife gave birth to a baby boy. (I haven’t seen him yet, but I’m so excited to hold him!) Both are amazing because of the odds against them.
God quit making girls, for our family anyway. On my side of the family there are 12 grandchildren. The first grandchild was a gorgeous baby girl, she’s 16 now, but still gorgeous. She is the only female grandchild in our family. Eleven grandchildren are boys; ten were born in the past six years. Many times, two family members have been pregnant at the same time. We speculated who was going to have the girl. We thought, quite incorrectly, the odds were against us to continue to have only boys. Each time the new arrival was another boy. We’ve decided God no longer makes girls. Sure, we’ll see them out in public, with other parents. I’ve never figured out how they’re slipping these girls past God. A few months ago my brother’s wife had an ultrasound; it declared their baby to be male. He either overcame the odds against him, or succumbed to them.
Since Marc and I have two boys, and Marc’s sister also has a boy, we figured the ‘God quit making girls’ curse carried over to their family. Somehow, they were able, with the help of God, to produce a girl. I think she beat the odds.
It’s a good thing our family has no aversion to little boys. It’s so fun to watch these little guys playing together.
The new babies are here now, busy sleeping, being fed and diapered, screaming (on occasion), and according to Psalm 8:2, praising God.
I discovered this verse a few months ago. I remember thinking, “Oh, maybe that’s what my kids are doing when they make happy noises I don’t understand.” The verse gave me a sense of relief. Thinking, my kids started off on the right track, and I just need to guide them through the stumbles of life. I was so happy at the thought I sent the verse to other Christians I know, telling them how cool I thought it was, and asking their perceptions. They didn’t agree, and asked me if it was so simple, why did Jesus have to die? Those responses kind of took the wind out of me, so I quit sharing the verse, to hold it sacred for myself. I think of it often as I watch my kids. They see me pray, and we talk about God sometimes, but they’re so little, we don’t go into a lot of details. Sometimes my four year old will fall, he’ll get a scrape on his arm or leg, and before he even tells me I hear him say, “God, could you heal me, please?” Or, if his younger brother is breaking into his room, he’ll pray, “God, keep him out of my room, please!” A couple times in the store when I’ve told him he couldn’t have some toy I’ve heard, “God, please tell Mommy to buy me that toy, please.” Sure, it’s not always the kind of praising I’d like him to do, but it is spontaneous, and comes completely from his head. Marc and I have never forced these prayers on him. Maybe they are ordained by God.
My 19 month old son has a vocabulary of about ten words, but a full repertoire of sounds he makes regularly. Are the sounds he makes happily, as he plays with his toys, (my cell phone he destroyed, the pancake turner and potato masher (which I can never find when I actually need them)) proof of praise ordained by God?
So today, I’m sharing my sacred verse with you, to tell you we have a new niece and nephew. They will, like all of us, go through hardships that cause them to doubt. I don’t know where they’ll end up in their battle. But for today, they are praising God. I hope I get many opportunities to listen.
One last thought. This was posted to our forums today, by a new member, who happens to be my sister and mother to two of our families’ grandchildren who arrived in the past six years:
I have believed in Jesus for as long as I can remember. I have learned about Jesus from many places, but it is my personal relationship with him each day that sustains me. I have 2 small children, and a few days ago my 6 year old son woke me up in the morning and asked me, “Mom, does God ever talk to us? I think he was telling me thank you for loving my Mom today”. Well, I was half asleep and stumbled around to answer him as best I could, but as the day went on I kept thinking about it. As parents, we try to teach our kids about Jesus, but it is only through a personal relationship with Him that our children will truly come to know Him. This was such a great sign to me that he really is developing that relationship. I will continue to pray for both of my boys that Jesus will write his name on their hearts and that they will always follow Him, but it is so awesome when we see answers to our prayers, even in the little things!
I wonder if that’s the truth. Do we ever get so busy teaching our kids, that we don’t realize what they know? Do we realize it when they actually have something to teach us?
Topics: Encouragement, Faith | No Comments »
