With every remembrance, thank God for the gift

For all of my adult life, my happiness has been the blessing of family. It is where I place value and retreat to find the joy and purpose for my life. It is no wonder that it has been translated into my life’s passion, becoming a ministry to children and families for more than 30 years.

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus Himself affirms the incalculable value of children. He stops time in His very busy, very public ministry to invite the little ones to come unto Him. He tells His disciples that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these as He takes them into His arms and blesses them. Jesus calls each of us to receive the kingdom of God just like a child does (Mark 10:13-16). What a beautiful picture of our Savior. Each time I proclaim this story, I feel its impact anew.

You see, in my small way, I have taken four little children into my arms, praying the Father’s blessings upon them, being changed forever by their presence in my life. With every remembrance of my own little ones, I thank God for His incredible gift to me.

When Kyle came into our life, Kathy and I knew from the first meeting that there could be no child as perfect and beautiful as that little one. We never imagined loving another baby as much as we loved him—until Amie was born. She was amazing, filled with light. It is a powerful gift realizing love grows when that new baby comes into our lives. We found that parenting two children is doable. Even exhilarating. Two parents, two sets of arms, two laps, and two hearts overflowing. Bring it on!

With the birth of our third child, we experienced a stark realization: We are now outnumbered. Can we divide and conquer? How many times will we feel like retreating? Will we be able to meet those three daily needs? But Jenny abated our anxieties immediately. She was an amiable baby with a sweet disposition and a smile that she gave freely to family and strangers alike. Our fears subsided as we adapted our days to the nurturing of three. And then along came our Mary. More expanding, more revision. And lots more love. Mary was born after my cancer diagnosis, after we were told there could be no more children. Our fourth child was a miracle. Our fourth miracle, actually.

We both refused to see our family as anything less than a good and perfect gift from above. It is not easy, and we struggled in those days of young children. The task, you know, is demanding. These are times best met with a heart that is willing to be filled to overflowing—and at times broken. Sleep is elusive, and silence is relegated to the hours between bedtime and the early morning hours of the next day. But it is also a time of waking before daylight on Christmas morning to giggles that turn to joyful belly-roll laughter—one of every year’s best memories. It is a time when prayers of safety for a child out late with friends turn to prayers of real thanksgiving upon their return. It is a time when I lift my baby, dedicating that life and entrusting the Father to keep that child for eternity. It is a time of celebration when each child comes forward to share that they have decided to follow Jesus and confess Him as Lord of their lives.

Sometimes, I relive these moments with those unbelievably perfect children, my memory crystal clear as I recall exact days with each of them. Sometimes, I am aided by snapshots, photographs taken from those growing years of children and family. I see my progression as a father, my own growth into the role for which God entrusted me.

These remembered experiences are my heart’s beat as I open God’s Word and repeat Jesus’s words: “Let the little children come to me…” Our Savior, the mighty Word Incarnate, placed everything He was doing on hold as the children came. That is the picture of the inestimable worth of a child. That is the world’s affirmation that children are gifts from God, as the psalmist puts it: “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3).

I can attest to that value through my children. They are my legacy. In truth, the world’s children are our legacy. May we all invite them to come among us so that they may know the great blessings they are.

Written by Jim Edminson, Editor of Charity & Children