Confidence

It is our first son's birthday today so I've been thinking about sons. What a blessing is a son. Yes, daughters are blessings too, but a son is - confidence. In many ways.

Physically, confidence in their brute force. Yes, as in lifting heavy things! I know daughters can struggle to lift heavy things too, but a son - he does it with such ease. Take for instance - carrying heavy things up stairs is not only carried up those stairs - they seem to bound up those stairs! Hauling that heavy bag of garbage out, "Careful, it's very heavy." But it seems only to be a tiny back pack as they carry it away. Security? When my sons are around I feel more confident in my own security. There are confidences to be had when sons are around!

I never did get down on the floor to teach my baby boys to make car sounds but one day, there he was - on the floor making car sounds. I had busied myself with my three daughters before my sons came and had watched my daughters do "girl" things for years. Now here was my first son, making car noises. I remember standing in wonder, watching him.

One day as I was busy in the kitchen, he slid the patio door open and asked me, "Mom? Can I have your wheels?" "Wheels?" "Yeah, the ones right here," he pointed to the two wheels on the BBQ grill. Never once did my daughters ever want those ol' wheels! "No," I said flatly, "Those are my wheels."

My Dad was disgruntled with Doug and I for too many years after we first were married. I long suspected it had to do with us getting married anyway after his big announcement - "there will be no more marriages for two years!" We languished under his disapproval for much too long! Dad!!! Wasted years that could have been blessed years. (Sadly, my Dad passed away in 1987, only 61.)

I laid my youngest son Kris into Dad's arms and I can remember his happy face when he looked at Kris for the first time. "Oh, you got another boy! I better now call Doug - my son," he announced.

For years he called my Dougie "that boy." When our first son Klint was born he announced, "Doug is not a boy anymore, I will now call him man." When Kris was born he said, "Klint is now the man, Kristophoer is the boy, and Doug I will call my son." I do remember the heart felt joy I had that day. I miss the simple joys of having Dad around - a lot.

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17.

Maybe it had something to do with his own upbringing - these many announcements. We all seem to live our lives with unsaid laws don't we?

When I look at the men boys out there today I am ----- seriously worried! They know how to wear their caps; they know how baggy their pants should or shouldn't fit; they know how to strut; they know which music is the kind; they even know how to woo a woman into living against the rules set in God's word, even the unsaid rules in her heart (Just watch Judge Judy!).

God forbid that we should ever be in a position of having to put any confidences in help from such. Better yet, our sons should be taught to be responsible. To be leaders. To be gentle with power. To care for their pets with kindness. To take care of their toys and not trash them. To be aware of the weakness women have to deal with every month! That dastardly cycle that wrecks havoc to our emotional up and down months!

Both of my sons birthdays are in June. All my daughters birthdays are in September, yes, we decided to have our daughters in September and sons in June. ha! NO, we didn't, it just happened that way.

Yesterday Klint and Calli came over to share the letter Klint had just received telling him that he had PASSED his FE/EIT test. And that has to do with Electrical Engineer stuff. It is an eight hour long test covering twelve topics in the general engineering session test and thirteen topics in the electrical engineering session test! Congratulations Klinton! As your Gramppa Van would say: "You done good!"

... and happy birthday Klinton. You are a blessing to both Dad and I. I appreciate your heart and how you live to praise and worship God's Son, Jesus Christ. It has been a blessing to be your Mom and I am "well pleased." I will always remember the day you were born and your Dad laid his head down on my shoulder and cried. I am sure he was thanking God for the blessing of a son - after three daughters. Then three years later he got his "bonus boy" too!

God has been good to us. Not only do we have our own sons, we have two added sons our daughters married. May God work in their hearts and lives too, bringing them both to the point of wanting foremost in life to praise and worship Jesus Christ - above all else. It is such a blessing to know God's Son, and better yet - to be known by Him. We are family!

May the sons in each one of your lives rise up to become your men heroes that you can fully rest your confidence in!