Thankful for Sons

In the month since I have last posted, I have experienced many things for which I am very thankful. Instead of doing one long post, I will split them up into several little ones. Who am I kidding? Make that several wordy ones! :)

This post is for my little Harry boy. He is not so little any more! He just celebrated his 5th birthday. He always has, and continues to be a source of joy, life and happiness in our home. Hannah and I have had several opportunities to be home alone together, and though we enjoy the time with each other, we both ALWAYS end up expressing how much we miss Harry. He brings the elements of surprise and laughter into our lives every day!

I have seen such growth and maturity in him this past year. He is growing and developing in his sense of compassion for others. It is so fun to listen to him pray. Last night during our family devotion time, he prayed for a woman he saw while we were running errands a week ago. He asked God to help her because, "she has crossed eyes, and I don't think she has any children, and she looked lonely." It was humorous at the time, but really touching to me later. He remembered her, even though I didn't mention her and he was worried that she might be lonely during this Christmas season. Such a sweet and tender heart.

He is so smart and loves to learn. He has an eagerness to understand. He is rarely satisfied with the pat answer of "just because" and wants to know how things work. He wants to understand deep concepts as well, and is always ready to talk about what is on his little heart. I LOVE that, and hope that we can continue to want to talk to and understand each other as he grows older.

He is funny and curious. The other day he told me, and I quote, "Mommy, remember that time we were at Sam's and I stuck my finger in that carton of cream and it spilled all over the floor and you had to get someone to help clean it up? Well, sometimes children be curious and that's why they sometimes do naughty things." Well said, Harry. That about sums up my entire childhood, and is a pretty good foreshadowing of what is to come in his.

I could go on an on about things I adore about my son. But I can't think about him without thinking about another Son. Knowing the love that I have for Harry, though I am flawed and far from perfect, causes me to stand in awe of the love that the Father has for his only Son. When I look at Harry, I know that I would give anything to protect him, to save him. At times I am overcome by the love the Father has FOR US, that He would send into this world his only, beloved, perfectly obedient, precious Son.

I always cry when we sing "Silent Night" on Christmas Eve. Even though the night is joyous and wonderful and we sing about everything being "calm and bright", I can't help but imagine what was going on in Heaven the night Jesus was born. The Father, watching the Son that He loves, being born into a world that that would not understand him, that would mistreat him, ridicule him, and would ultimately nail him to a cross, naked, alone, and forsaken. That first Christmas had to be one mixed with joy and sorrow. But our Father was willing--willing to sacrifice the one thing He loved more than anything else. Willing to feel the pain that would pierce His own heart too, as He watched His precious Son become a man of sorrows. Willing to hear his only boy cry out to him as he hung dying on a cross of shame, knowing that if He saved him, He would lose all of us. Willing, because His love is so great, it is incomprehensible. I can't wait to get to Heaven, to begin the joy of knowing that Love face to face.

So, happy birthday, my son, Harry. And Happy Birthday, to the Risen Son, who has fought the fight against sin and death, and has been the Conquering Hero, the Son of Promise! His birth is one worth celebrating! May every son born to us look and live just like Him!