My wife and I celebrated the 18th anniversary of our first date. We met on a blind date while in college; I was a junior transfer student who had just come to know the Lord, Rebekah was a freshman. Now, 18 years later, we anticipate the arrival of our 7th child! I could never have imagined the path God has taken us on all these years, and I certainly never would have thought we would have 7 kids! I am continually amazed at God’s rich blessings and His faithfulness to give us abundant grace as we need it.
Each new child has brought another incredible glimpse into the creativity, uniqueness and perfection of God’s creation. It seems impossible that the same two people can bring forth such an amazing variety of personalities, features and temperments. As Dan and I have been exploring the 3:9 Principle it has given me a new lens for viewing my children. Each has been so uniquely designed and they each bring such special gifts and talents to the family unit. I couldn’t imagine any one of them not being in our fold.
The most challenging point facing me at this time is to not lose sight of that uniqueness. I have 3 incredible boys, yet it is easy to lump them into the same mold - after all, they are mini-me creations right!? On the contrary, they are each as special and different as snowflakes on a cool winter morning. They each have their own bent, or Nature, which God has designed in them with a purpose. My oldest son is a Head-Heart centric kid - he is passionate about his Relationships, and while he loves sports, that interest is expressed in Statistics and Facts. My second oldest is a mirror image of his older brother whom he idolizes, yet I can already see that he is distinctly different. As a father it is my responsibility to help train in his “bent” and to point him to his Heavenly Father.
Anticipating our new arrival has strengthened my resolve and desire to better understand myself and my children. This is also my purpose in developing the 3:9 Principle. In many ways I anticipate the arrival of our Beta Phase with excitement and expectation just as I anticipate God’s newest blessing. While my spare time will be limited in the next few weeks with the new baby, I am committed to moving us forward in our pursuit of developing and publishing the 3:9 Principle. What an exciting journey!
