Only forty seconds old and you changed my life forever.
”It’s a boy!”
During those forty seconds after you took your first breath at 5:55 pm on February 24, 1983, a ninth month surprise announces I’ve given birth to a baby boy.
Forty years ago there were no routine ultra sounds or gender reveals to prepare a parent or nursery in advance for a child’s arrival.
Yet, while carrying this miracle inside of me, a mother dreams and wonders through her babies kicks, rolls, sleeps and hiccups, introducing herself as she rocks, reads and sings to the child she has to herself for forty beautiful weeks.
At twenty-two years of age and enduring twelve long hours of natural labor, I held in my arms a baby boy wrapped in a blanket; wrapped in my heart.
A few weeks after your birth, your parents vowed to raise you in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord, dedicating back and recognizing you as the gift from God from which He gave.
…Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Luke 2:22 NIV
Mother’s never count, but those kisses, hugs, stories, and midnight watches in her math, calculates at a minimum, forty times a million throughout your lifetime.
In a child’s short life, a mother begins to feel the tug and letting go of her heartstrings, when forty rollovers become forty scoots, which become forty crawls into forty steps; a slow progression thru the years when a child finds and gains his wings from the nest he calls home.
Sharing the nest with his sister five years younger than he, our son’s personality and plan on his life as well as hers, began to unfold before our eyes.
Approximately forty hours of teaching each week over the school year for the next twelve, it was evident in a mother’s blink through the yearbook; our baby boy was growing up.
Those first few steps you took when learning to walk became miles and miles away from our grip. Yes, letting go is inevitable, but the evidence before my eyes was raw and real for this mother to process.
“Letting go, meant letting God!”
Words I’d embrace on my knees as our son drove up the two acre drive way heading for college, not realizing at the time this picture was taken, home for him would never be our address, as a series of graduations would re-locate our son from one corner of the map to the other.
Home for our son now grown into this handsome man a mother hardly recognizes from the child she gave life to, is the United States military, for which he proudly serves.
Looking back in the rear view mirror of my son’s forty years of life, as delighted as I am of his accomplishments, he still remains my son, the accolade I am most proud.
A four generational picture honors the roots of our son, for which he celebrates.
Then, there’s the crazy, free spirited son of ours who continues to enjoy life into adulthood…
On his favorite childhood toy…
By not cutting his hair for twelve months in college…
By climbing a mountain with his best friend, without a guide and in a snowstorm….
By becoming a third generation bee-keeper, though highly allergic to bees…
By surfing among the sharks when stationed in Hawaii…
Yes, our free spirited son has lived a life of accomplishment and adventure; yet our greatest joy is embracing him as our son, and now father bringing adventure to four children of his own.
Today, our son Jacob James C England celebrates his fortieth birthday. A mother can hardly believe it when his first birthday celebration seems like yesterday.
Forty years of time is now behind you son, and forty years (plus) of road waits in front of you with a blank itinerary to be mapped out.
If I could wrap and present a gift to you on this milestone birthday of yours, it’d be the same words of wisdom I’ve been speaking since you were born…
Never forget what the Lord has done for you.
Praise the Lord for the favor, the abilities, the knowledge, the opportunities, your salvation, for which He has generously given.
Praise the Lord for the good land he has given you.
Do not forget the Lord,
Obey his commands,
That your heart won’t become proud.
(Deuteronomy 8)
18But remember the Lord your God,
For it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth…
Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV
A BIRTHDAY BLESSING FROM YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER…
May the Lord bless you with favor and protection. May the Lord be pleasing, merciful and compassionate towards you, bestowing His approval and peace over your life.
The Lord bless you
And keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you
And be gracious to you,
The Lord turn his face toward you
And give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 NIV
We love you son.
Celebrating Forty…
Apples of Gold Encouragement 