We wrote him a letter just like we did for Clara, and I thought I'd include it here too. We are so incredibly blessed by this little man. And with our awesome church family. And with our family and our friends. #mycuprunnethover ;)
Dear Caleb,
We stand in awe of the gift God has given us in you: a sweet little boy who is a perfect addition to our family. Neither of us will forget the moment, at the hospital, we learned you were a boy. From that moment we have loved discovering all the ways you are unique and very different from your big sister. Your personality is still unfolding, but we find ourselves continually blessed by your laid-back nature, easy laugh and sweet spirit. Your tendency towards exploration has already begun to reveal itself and we are excited (and slightly fearful) about all it might entail. We love you and feel so blessed that God has given you to us to mold and shape, love and guide. You are a gift that was worth waiting for – and we are so thankful that God’s plan for our family, and His timing – meant the incredible blessing of YOU. We will forever be grateful. We are undeserving of this awesome gift and are continually blessed and humbled by all that it means to be your parents.
Your name, Caleb, means faithful and devoted. Just like the Caleb of the Old Testament, who fearlessly believed God and was devoted to him against great odds, we pray that you will also faithfully love the Lord and follow him. We pray that from a young age you will come to see your need for a Savior and will place your trust and hope in Christ. We pray that your relationship with him will translate into a life that is lived to love and impact the world around you for the Kingdom of Christ. We commit to loving and serving you. We commit to praying for you and with you. We commit to instructing you and teaching you in the ways of Christ. And we commit to holding loosely. You belong to God, not to us, and so we choose to place you in God’s hands and trust Him for the plans he has for your life. He has a beautiful plan for you, Caleb George, and we are so excited to see what lies in store.
A verse we will faithfully pray for you is Joshua 1:9 - “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” We can guarantee that you will face many challenges in this life. We pray that during these times and always, your source of courage and strength will come from the Lord and not yourself. May this courage be contagious and demonstrate the hope that can only be found in Christ.
We love you so much, Caleb George. We will be forever thankful to God for the gift of you in our lives and we look forward to the many adventures we will have as a family in the years to come.
Love,
Dad and Mom
1 comment:
love... my heart is welled!! What a gift he is, but what a gift you guys are to him!! He is so blessed to have you as parents (and Clara as his big sis) You guys are gettin' it right, man alive, I love your perspective on life and parenting -- and your line in his letter about holding loosely; so hard and convicting as a mom. I often think about something Andy Bruno's mom once said after losing him at 28yrs old, that it was very impressed on her heart that her children were only "on loan" to her/them. So much of my parenting ends up being rooted in wanting to protect and keep them safe; and yet that's not necessarily the picture of good parenting. Yes, of course we want to help our children survive ;) and thrive --- but that means helping them stand boldly courageous for Christ and can mean letting your children "go" enough to encourage them to follow Him, wherever that may lead. You guys are wonderfully intentional and I love your devotion to Jesus and how that so naturally flows into who you are and how you bless those around you - your kiddos especially included. ;) We love you guys!
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