Gifts and Talents - Part II

Almost 6 years ago we were blessed with the birth of our first miracle, Jeter. So much prayer...so worth the wait. Many times I find myself pausing, if just for a moment, looking at him and thanking God for his life. In that moment time stops and I try desperately to remember every detail. I know that as quickly as I pause, the moment passes. Time continues and he grows and matures. I do not mourn the change. I choose to embrace it. But I do want to remember and never forget the gift that Jeter is to us. This post is a sampling...meant to highlight a few of the gifts and talents we have seen in Jeter (just as I did for Barber).

When he was 2 years old I was still teaching and he was in the care of a woman in town. There was another boy there who was 6 months older than him and 3 children that were 4 years old. Jeter was the youngest. I still remember one day when we were talking together at our kitchen table. He was upset about how a couple of the children were treating him. My response probably wasn't the normal run-of-the-mill. It never is. Anyway, I was sharing with him that God did not create him to just follow others. He always has a choice. I explained that he was not required to play with them - especially when they were not acting nicely. I then suggested options of what he could do instead. I admit that for a moment I thought "What am I doing here? He's TWO! Is he really going to get this?!?" But I didn't stop. I believe he got it - or at least, this is when God began to bring forth the skill of leadership in Jeter. Today, we see evidence of this - in church and at school - he takes initiative. Now, it is our responsibility to teach him how to utilize this gift properly. Lately we've been talking about what it is to serve others and to allow the love of Jesus to emulate from our lives.

The ability to reason is another characteristic of Jeter. He is a negotiator like his Poppy. Unfortunately (for him), Mommy and Daddy don't negotiate. He is calculated and enjoys math (simple addition and subtraction) - he likes to figure it out in his head. He is logical and has an amazing memory - his ability to recite word for word what he has seen or heard one time astounds me. Simms and I know that this is definitely from the Lord because neither of us have this ability - certainly not to this extent. He likes to build and create. Some of this may be natural for his age and stage of life. Some of it is definitely unique to him. He is also very detail oriented. When he was three, Simms was trying to give him an example of how Jeter needs to listen to his Daddy no matter what. Simms explained that even if Jeter wanted to play with that car, if Daddy told him not to, he needed to trust him and obey no matter what. I bit my tongue as I listened because the "car" was a Tonka dump truck. When Simms finished his talk, he finally asked "Do you understand?" to which Jeter responded "Dad... it's a truck!"

Jeter has a sensitive spirit. He was very easy to correct as a child - and still is. Due to his high sensitivity to facial expressions (and the emotions they represent), there were (and still are) many shows and/or videos that he restricts himself from. There are a number of VeggieTales and Larry Boy videos that he won't watch. Our church would show the Odyssey Series to the kids in preschool and he would ask to leave the room. One time when I asked him about it he told me that "...there were some men that were hurting the Israelites and being mean to them." I explained that the Bible does tell us about many times when that did happen. I will never forget his response. "That doesn't mean that I have to see it." So simple. And he was right. So, for over a year he chose to sit in church with us and listen to our pastor's messages. Each Sunday he would tell us what he learned that day. He was learning - at 4 - so we let him continue. Now he participates with the Kindergarten class at our church and loves it. They don't show videos and he is soaking up the weekly lessons that are taught.

Music and worship are two things that Jeter enjoys and participates in. We have a couple tapes filled with him singing some typical songs - like the ABC's and Jesus Loves Me. But most of it is him making up his own songs about his family and God. Not necessarily production quality but the passion behind the lyrics is priceless. This is a gift that we need to start to "unwrap"...we are just seeking God's guidance and direction as to what we do first (he wants to play piano, guitar and drums!!!).

What an awesome responsibility we have as parents! I look at these two lives...these two little boys that God has blessed us with and pray often for wisdom. I pray that He would show me how to speak into their lives and that I would be mindful of my words and actions - that through them my sons would be blessed and positively influenced. That they would always know how precious they are. My desire is to see them grow and mature into the men that God has called and created them to be. That every gift and talent would come forth in their lives in His timing - and would be used to give Him glory. That they would be men of integrity, passionate for the things of the Lord.

Jeter and Barber are my priceless treasures.