N is for…

A Verse Hid in Our Heart…N is for…
“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21,22

A Hymn to Impart… “Jesus, I Come”

A Sweet Little Prayer…“Sing to God”

A Poem to Share… “Bats”

How Our Week Was Spent
We learned more about bats. Most people are afraid of bats but they shouldn’t be because bats are actually good. Some can catch 600 mosquitos in an hour and some help pollinate plants. They are also good moms. A mommy bat will leave her baby in a bat nursery to go hunt and when she comes in she can find her baby again even though there are millions of other baby bats (by Titus 10, Joel 8 1/2 and Nate 6 1/2).

Teacher’s Two-Cents
I’ve never liked bats so I wasn’t very excited about this section of the text that focused on these “other” flying creatures of the fifth day. The more we read about them however, the more in awe I became over this “darker side” of God’s creation, especially when I learned how devoted the Mama bats are to their babies. Most bats only have one baby a year and they will nurse them for up to 6 months. The mama coos to the baby and the baby squeals back. In fact the mama knows her own baby’s squeal and scent so well that when she leaves her baby in the “bat nursery” to go hunt at night she can come back and pick out her own baby out of the thousands, even millions of pups huddled together.
My oldest “pup” turned 10 years old this week and I’m pretty sure I’d be able to pick him out of a million as well! But as well as I think I know him he is constantly surprising me as he grows. The fact is even though he’s been pretty much continually in my presence and under my influence for the past 10 years, there is thankfully a power greater than me at work in his life! So while I have been busy trying to create a boy who loves tomatoes, cleans up after himself, and does his math without complaint (none of which I’ve been successful at), the Lord who knit him together has been busy accomplishing a far greater work. As much as I poured myself into this child, the person who is emerging is a daily surprise, an unfamiliar wonder. I didn’t know he’d be a talented athlete, excelling at everything he tried, but the Lord who formed every muscle did.

I didn’t know he’d have the determination to read through the Bible in 7 months and the mind to acutely remember a wealth of details, but the Author of Life did. I didn’t know he’d be a gifted artist, but the Divine Designer did.

“Hawaiian Mallard at Sunset” Oil-on-Canvas by Titus

I didn’t know he’d have a steadfastness of spirit that would drive him to constantly seek after truth and cling to it, but the Holy Spirit did. I didn’t know he’d be a devoted big brother, but the Lord who blessed him with 4 little charges did.

I didn’t know he’d have the imagination, ingenuity and resourcefulness to be able to create what ever entered his minds eye from lego crafts to forts to useful gear to musical instruments to meticulously documented imaginary worlds, but the Creator of the Universe did.

So maybe it’s time for me to stop lecturing him about not throwing the ball in the house, and time to stop sneaking tomatoes into recipes, and time to stop grumbling every time I pick up his dirty clothes and time to start getting to know this boy as God designed him, not as I will him to be. Happy 10th Birthday, Titus! My life is infinitely richer because you’re in it. You ARE my own beloved son and with you I am VERY well pleased.

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