Category Archives: Children

Have we seen that before?

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When Nate died, we had 2 grandchildren, 15 month old Skylar and 10 month old Nicholas. Since then, 4 more little lives have joined our family: Micah, Evelyn, Thomas, and Autumn. Birgitta’s October baby will be a 5th, bringing the total grands to 7.

The oldest of this passel of children is only 3, but a-lotta lively livin’ has been packed into the 2½ years since Nate left us. Because I believe every new life originates with God, I enjoy the thought that somehow our Lord, acting in love, has given Nate knowledge of these 4 little ones.

As I look at their angelic faces, once in a while I get glimpses of my husband. It’s the wonder of ancestry that facial features from a grandpa could reappear in his grandchildren or even in generations not yet born. We see this in something as simple as hair color. Nate and I were surprised when our first child came out with red hair, so we looked for other “carrot-tops” in our family tree. To our surprise they were dotted on both sides, though none in a close generation.

Every physical feature comes from someone else along the genealogy before us, though we may not recognize who or when. Grandpa’s eyes, great-grandma’s smile, auntie’s cheekbones. Yet in God’s unlimited ability to make each individual unlike any other, when he puts the recurring pieces together, each person turns out to be unique.

Far more important than someone’s physical characteristics, however, is the heart, and I don’t mean the lubb-dubb kind. Although most physical hearts look alike, it’s our emotional hearts that God is keenly interested in, and each of those is one-of-a-kind. He’s especially curious about whether or not our hearts beat for him.

If we daily seek after him with a desire to do life his way, the delightful result is that we’ll gradually become more like him. Some of his characteristics will appear in us, similar to the way the physical characteristics of our ancestors pop up one generation to the next.

Folklore tells us there’s one other way to look like someone else: stay married for a long time and you’ll begin to resemble your spouse. Maybe it’s a result of mirroring each other day after day or looking across the table and picking up each other’s mannerisms. Maybe it’s the result of eating the same diet or breathing the same air.

Whatever the reason, in our efforts to become more like Christ, it’s a pretty good idea to “look across the table” each day and see the Lord. If we watch what he does, obey his instructions, and eat a steady diet of his Word, we’re bound to start looking like him.

“We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him.” (1 John 3:2)

Picture-Perfect

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My daughter Linnea is in Michigan with me this week, husband Adam, 3 year old Skylar, 2 year old Micah, and 4 month old Autumn. Having children around enlivens the rest of us. Their enthusiasm for life is contagious, even the way they hit the “go” switch the minute they come to consciousness each morning and keep going till they’re ready to drop.

This afternoon as Skylar and Micah napped, Autumn didn’t, so since I was babysitting, this little girl and I had some one-on-one time. We unloaded the dishwasher together, picked up toys, played peek-a-boo, took a stroller ride, and sat in a rocker. As we cuddled there, she fell asleep in my arms, melting into a limp bundle of pudgy beauty.

I couldn’t help but study her sweet face the whole time she slept, marveling at how perfectly she is put together. Of course no one is perfect, but looking at her today, she sure did seem to be.

Looks can be deceiving, though. In Autumn’s short life she’s already demonstrated enough me-first episodes (especially during the night!) to convince us she isn’t perfect. But then again, we’re not surprised.

“Welcome to an imperfect world, little one.” (She’ll fit right in.)

Although the odds for perfection in this world are against us, life didn’t start out that way. Eden was flawless, and earth’s first citizens, Adam and Eve, probably qualified as perfect. For how long, we don’t know. Maybe an eon. Maybe 10 minutes. It certainly wasn’t God’s fault they threw perfection overboard for a blemished existence. They just didn’t carefully ponder the consequences.

Before we come down too hard on them, though, we have to admit we do the same thing. God sets out guidelines for us that have perfection written into them, just as he did for Adam and Eve. We then tweak them to our liking and step in a compromised direction without seriously considering the consequences. When we find ourselves in a mess, we turn back toward God and say, “How could you let this happen to me?”

Such an accusation is almost comical.

Lest we despair, though, he lets us know a time is coming when this unruly tug-of-war within us will end, because perfection will be part of our everyday lives. He says in 1 Corinthians 13, “When the perfect comes…” (v. 10) On that day, Adam and Eve will experience a déjà vu moment, having lived it once already, but the rest of us will be delightfully shocked when it happens. And it will, because God said so. He also said, “My way is perfect, and all of my promises prove true.” (2 Samuel 22:31)

So, what about baby Autumn? In my humble grandma opinion, she couldn’t be any more perfect. But when true perfection comes, it sure will be nice to have her sleeping through the night.

“The law of the Lord is perfect,reviving the soul.” (Psalm 19:7)

Just Heavenly

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Since November of 2009 when death took Nate out of my daily life, I’ve missed him continually. His picture sits on my desk, and when I look at his smiling face, it’s natural to smile back. Of course we can’t communicate anymore, but I’m just practicing for the future when once again we will.

Heaven is real to me. I believe everything God says, and he says heaven is a specific place. I know Nate has gone there and one day I will, too. When I smile at Nate’s picture, part of my pleasure is in visualizing the togetherness heaven promises. But Nate isn’t the only one in my mental picture. Jesus is, too, supremely so.

I remember watching a video of Erwin Lutzer’s mother on her 103rd birthday. Her husband had passed away several years before, and she longed to go to her heavenly home, too. Someone asked if she was looking forward to being reunited with him. She smiled in acknowledgment but said, “I want to see Jesus.”

During the last 2½ years, I’ve received 9 books about heaven. One was inspired by the experiences of a 4 year old who seems to have briefly visited heaven during a surgery. Because I agreed with the title, “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL,” I was eager to read it. While trying to be mindful that the report was given by a young child, I enjoyed possibility-thinking as I read. What impressed me most was Colton’s attitude. It seemed easy for him to take in all he experienced, at face value. No skepticism. No yes-buts. Just of-courses, and why-nots!

The Bible tells us flat-out that we can learn from children, and Colton taught me, not so much about heaven as about accepting what God says about it without superimposing my own opinion over it. Children are pros at literal thinking so that what they hear is what they believe. Even Jesus pointed this out in his teachings. So maybe we ought to think about heaven like children do.

And what do they think? First and foremost, Jesus is there.

One of my own children, as young as Colton was, made a statement about heaven I’ve never forgotten. Little Louisa came to me, looking concerned. “You’re not going to heaven very soon, are you Mom?”

“No, probably not till I’m really old,” I said.

“Well, when I get to heaven, where should I look for you?” she said.

While thinking about what I should say, she came up with her own answer. “Just be standing next to Jesus. I know I’ll be able to find him real easy, and then I’ll find you, too!”

Colton, Louisa, and Mrs. Lutzer are 3 fine examples of how we’re to think about heaven: it’s a real place, we’ll go there someday, and Jesus will be waiting to greet those of us who believe in him.

Jesus said, “I am coming again to welcome you into my own home, so that you may be where I am.” (John 14:3)