Children of God

"Now these were the names"

Genesis 46:8

Have I ever told you about my kids?  I have two of them, and they're Awesome and Amazing. 

My Awesome Girl is 15.  Coming on fast to 16.  She's an artist, in more ways than one.  She draws and paints, and takes stunning photos.  She also plays more than one instrument, without the benefit of formal lessons.  The Apple of my Eye has taught her a lot of what he knows about the guitar, and when it comes to the piano, she just sits down and works on it until she teaches herself a song.

She loves math and science, and is great at those.  She sometimes takes on more work than she needs to, because she likes the challenge.

She's repainting her bedroom herself, because she got tired of the color it used to be.  So she chose colors, bought the paint with her own money, and got to work.  But the transition is hard, until the room is finished, and I'll tell you why ~ because this child likes things just so.  A place for everything, and everything in its place.  That's when she feels good about her room.

She loves books, especially fantasy stories about dragons and elves.  She loves music, of many different styles, all of it loud.  She loves playing volleyball, and being with her friends.  She's deep and complex and strong in her faith.  And she loves me, and her dad and her brother ~ and our dog and our kitty ~ with a quiet, strong, unmistakeable love. 

My Amazing Boy is 12.  He's an athlete ~ he loves playing baseball, but he also runs, and plays hockey in the backyard, and enjoys kicking a soccer ball once in awhile, or tossing a football, or playing impromptu volleyball.

He loves US history ~ especially tales of action.  He reads and studies above and beyond what's in his textbooks, to learn details about the things that interest him.  He's good at math, and excels at doing work in his head, while I'm having to work it out on paper.

His imagination is like none I've ever seen.  Though he adores his sister, even at a very young age he was comfortable playing by himself.  He would get out his cars or his toys and imagine lengthy, detailed scenarios for them.  Or he would use the toys to act out a movie or TV plot he had seen. 

He has always been mature beyond his years, gentle and kind and compassionate.  He asks deep questions about God and the Bible, and remembers what he has been taught.  His joy is constant, and he lightens any rooms he's in.  He's firm and confident in his faith.  And he loves me, and his dad and his sister ~ and our dog and our kitty ~ with a fierce, powerful, yet gentle love.

I could also tell you that one of my kids is sometimes stubborn, and one of them is sometimes lazy.  I could tell you that one of them is unduly nervous about spiders, and one of them is unduly nervous about going into unfamiliar places.  But I would also tell you that even those are negative traits, it doesn't change how I feel about them. 

Days gone by...

 I could go on and on about my children.  That's how it is for parents.  They are precious and special to me, and I'm convinced ~ thoroughly convinced ~ that there are none like them.  And I would do anything for them.

And this love for my children has changed the way I read the Bible.  Specifically, it has changed the way I read lists of names.  "The son of Dan was Hushim.  The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem."  That's from Genesis 46.  Twenty verses of God listing names.  Do you find that boring?  When I read Scripture like this, I imagine God with His wallet open, and one of those little photo accordions unraveling, and He's enthusiastically reciting:  "And this one is Reuben, you remember he was Jacob's firstborn... And here's Judah with his boys, oh, and there's his grandson, Perez ~ he's going to be next in the Messianic lineage, you know..."

It might be tempting to skim over these parts of the Bible, but don't do it.  God wrote it ~ read it.   Say the names out loud, and maybe even write them.  See what jumps out.  Benjamin had ten sons.  Dan had only one.  If you read the New King James version, you might notice that Issachar had a son named Job, and you might wonder if it's the Job.  Scholars disagree, but by noticing this detail, you can get in on the wondering.

And when you read, think about yourself.  Know that He speaks your name with love.  He loves the sound of it, and every bit of you.  He treasures the quirks that make you you, and He knows how your uniqueness can bring Him glory.  And even though He's working to rid you of your flaws, He loves you anyway. 

He loves you big, and high, and far; unceasingly and unconditionally.  That's who He is.  He is Love, and He Loves You.

~ "rejoice that your names

      are written in heaven" ~

Luke 10:20