Boys and Girls

My daughter turns three a mere 10 days after my son turned 5. We have a busy week of birthday celebrations in an attempt give each child the attention and recognition they need for their big day. And, in the same week, Heather and I celebrate our anniversary. It's busy to say the least.

When we found out we were having a boy, we bought things that were blue and went with a sports theme for Elijah. After all, he will be a professional athlete so we should just probably get him ready early! When Heather was pregnant with Savannah I was unaware of the gender of our second baby - and that was my choice. I forced Heather and all those in the know to keep it quiet. I wanted to be surprised. So, we bought "gender neutral" colors and had a "gender neutral" theme, animals.

Now that Savannah is turning three we understand that she loves the color pink and babies, dolls, and Jessie from Toy Story. She plays dress up no more than six minutes after she wakes up in the morning and will continue to wow us with her fashion shows throughout much of the day. She will often ask me, "do I look pretty Daddy?" She is a princess.

my birthday boy

My son Elijah was born 5 years ago. The birth experience was a difficult one for both my wife and I. As a father you mostly stand around getting yelled at by the future mom, the nurses, and any one else that happens to see you standing around while your wife is going through pain men will never know. But more than that, our son Elijah was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, twice. As he came into the world all the medical personnel began to make all the necessary arrangements to ensure that Elijah was okay. I, unfortunately, was not allowed to cut the cord. I was not allowed to touch him until they finished all the required tests. I simply stood in the middle of the room unable to do much of anything.

As Elijah was being attended to by the great nurses, Heather was receiving attention from the doctor. I was stuck between attending to my wife - which the doctors told me to stay back until they finished - and attending to my son - which the nurses told me to stay back until they finished! I was left to stand there and pray that God would do what I couldn't: help.

when life spoils

I was recently asked a deep and complex Theological question that I am wholly inadequate to answer: "what is God's will for my life?" 

This question seems to be the most pressing question in the life of young adults I work with. They are staring at the prospect of having to choose where they will attend school, which major they want to study, who they want to spend their life with, and eventually, where that life will be lived. Deep, complicated, perplexing questions that can paralyze even the most driven and determined young adult.

As the question continues to loom inside their minds and hearts, the unanswered question begins to take on a new life. The original question then becomes a new question: "why doesn't God just tell me what I should do?" They reason, "...that way everyone will be happy and I will finally know what to do."