Childhood
1. He was born out of a promise. We struggled to get pregnant and felt like God gave us a specific month that we would conceive. We prayed, trusted and even shared with our friends about the month of promise. We conceived that month and praised God for his faithfulness.
2. This kid laughed early. We figured his laughter was simply a foreshadow of what was to come in his pure gift of humor and sarcasm.
3. He risks. This is a double-edged sword, of course. Because his frontal cortex has yet to fully develop he has yet to fully understand consequences. But risk is a beautiful thing when it comes to faith and God.
4. I worry about his competitive heart. I see his desire to win, run faster, and reach the goal. We pray God uses it to run his own race of grace and trust in Jesus so that he may not only win, but finish the race well.
Family
5. I worked too much to really appreciate how God was shaping him every day. Often it was weeks before I even noticed growth and changes. I am sad I will not get those moments back.
6. Amy poured herself into Connor. I can’t tell you how many bible passages she memorized so that she could pray God’s promises over our son.
Failures
7. Connor was the first child to bear the weight of my impatience and anger. As I grow up, along with him, we are healing together.
8. He just wanted a dad who would love him. Too often I have been a dad who wanted to teach him, embolden him, and shape him into what I already saw in him. I have desired to be a microwave in his life when what he needed was a 250 degree oven on a long bake.
The Little Things
9. Connor is hilarious. He has a comeback for everything—which means he’ll either end up on SNL or beat up by a short-tempered bully with no sense of humor.
10. I love the rare moments when he decides to snuggle next to us during a movie. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does happen, Amy and I exchange glances and smile.
11. Sometimes he hums while he eats. It’s funny and fun. Sometimes we don’t talk at dinner so we can listen for it.
12. He is a Ping-Pong master. He’s no Forest Gump, but he stomps his old man pretty much every day. He loves seeing me cry in defeat.
13. His depth of understanding in the Scriptures blows us away. He is basically Rain Man when it comes to the beautiful and deep doctrines of the faith.
14. We love his laugh. When his cackle fills the house, it trumps any gloomy day.
15. He is a good driver. I save this for number 15 because he has only been behind the wheel for a few days. We look forward to the day when we can send him on our errands.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Happy Birthday Connor!! Miss you – sorry I'm not there to make your birthday cookie cake, but I am in spirit!!!! I love you!! 🙂
I feel the Family & Failures part. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much.
We miss you!
Thanks my friend.