Thursday, July 7, 2011

Family Life

Owen just learned to crawl, he's teething, being weened, and sleeping through the night (sometimes . . . sigh). Oh and he's also adorable, as you can see. He's mischievous, moody and really knows how to catch your heart with a little smile.

Leif is growing up, but also going through that difficult stage where he realizes that his brother gets a lot of attention for being a baby. He's been sucking his thumb more, and playing at being a baby to try to get back some of the attention. We're learning though that this little boy has been given the sweetest heart by God, as he responds in perceptive and generous ways that are so wonderful and surprising. In minor moments of difficulty we catch him praying to Jesus, for us, out loud. He's picking up on our relationship with Jesus, and learning to enter into that on his own. We spend a lot of time reading stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible that our good friends Mark and Donna Marie bought for Leif. I (Charles) find that it speaks to my heart very deeply, and Leif just seems to love it! The language is so full of God's love, and the artwork is very intriguing to his little imagination. He's always asking about the pictures as we read. It's constant refrain is to point to Jesus as our Rescuer and the ultimate expression of God's Always and Forever Love for us. It's just one of the ways we see God sharing life with us through Leif, and lovingly parenting him through us.

As I lay in bed praying with Leif one night, he was asking me how he could see Jesus. I was inspired to tell him this: "You see how I'm looking at you right now? And I'm smiling and putting my arms around you, because I love you?" Leif said yes. Then I was going to say, "Jesus loves you like that", but I didn't. Instead I said this: "Because Jesus lives in me, when I smile at you, you can see His face smiling, and when I love you, you can feel Him loving you. Does that make sense?" And Leif nodded, slowly. I don't know how much he really understands, but then, how much do I understand the mystery of Jesus loving my children through me? I just know that I like it, and I want to experience more of this relationship every day. 

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Thank you for showing an interest in what I am thinking and writing. I welcome further conversation and comments.

Charles