Nobility

I love my kids. I have four of them. My two girls, Danae and Hope, are 22 months apart in age. For the longest time, I thought I would be the only man in the house. I became proficient in the fine art of Barbies and tea parties. I was certain that I would forever live in an ocean of hot pink and purple doll accessories. But five years after our last child was born, our next last child was born. A boy. His name is Josiah. It took exactly 15 seconds to know that even as babies, boys are wired differently than girls. This does not only relate to plumbing. The baby noises were different. The destruction was different. I know this is offensive to some people. If that is you, just don’t read any farther. It isn’t going to get better for you, and quite frankly, I don’t care about your offense. It’s your choice, not my problem.

As I said, I love my kids. They are a blessing to me. But that’s not good enough. I want to raise kids that are a blessing to other people as well. Each of them are just that. Each one is dramatically different than the next. Danae is a born leader with an above average measure of compassion. Hope is my quiet adventurer. I never know what to expect with her. It always surprises me. Josiah, well Josiah has a nobility about him that is a gift from God.

When Josiah was 2, he started praying for a baby brother. We spent quality time with him, assuring him that another child just wasn’t possible. But he didn’t care. He wanted a baby brother. Every time he prayed, no matter if it was in public or at home, he said, “And Jesus, I thank you for my new baby brother.” We had many occasions when we had to explain that my wife wasn’t pregnant, Josiah just wanted a baby brother.

Thanks to Josiah’s prayers, five years after our last child was born, our last last child was born. I’ve already written about John.  He’s all personality and charm. Josiah has been a protective, strong big brother. Noble. That’s the word that keeps coming to mind.

When he was small, we asked Josiah what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer is incredibly boyish. “I want to be lots of ball players.” Baseball, basketball, football, soccer. It didn’t matter what the sport was, he wanted to play. He’s also very bright. Math and science are his forte, but he loves history as well. He’s a good listener and very analytic.

By the time Josiah was a freshman at our local public high school, his sisters were already at college. He listened to them talk about how their high school did a poor job preparing them for the academic rigors of life at a university. He processed their conversation, looked at the schools in our area and began to pray, all unbeknownst to his parents. Halfway through the first semester of his sophomore year he came to us and said that he wanted to transfer to a small private Christian school. He explained about the higher academic standards and preparation for college. We prayed and agreed. He walked into a new school the second semester of his sophomore year and acted like it was his destiny. In two years, he has lettered in cross country, basketball, football, tennis, and golf. Lots of ball players. He is his Senior Class Vice President, starred in the lead role of the school musical, leads worship with his guitar in chapel, serves in student government, and is going on a mission trip to Niger. Throughout this, he stays quiet, humble and caring. Like I said, noble.

The last basketball game of this semester was on his 18^th birthday. With 30 seconds left in the game, the student section began to sing Happy Birthday to him. As soon as the game was over, they rushed the court, picked him up and carried him off singing, For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow. As someone who had the stated goal of raising kids that are a blessing to others, I was overwhelmed with emotion. When you see people honor your children, it profoundly touches you. I shared this information with his sisters, who no longer live at home. You can see the screen grab.

We live in a time when our national leaders are lying skunks, our entertainers are vacuous narcissists, and other public figures act like the world owes them everything. It is so rare to meet someone of noble character who not only brings his best to the world, he brings the best out of those who come in contact with him. It’s rarer still to be related to that person. It is positively mind blowing to think that I had the privilege of raising him. I’m blessed. If you ever meet Josiah, you’ll be blessed, too.

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