An Open Letter to My Son

Dear Caleb,

My son, you were created with purpose.  You were conceived just a few weeks after the doctor said that we only had a 50% chance of having children.  You see, you have been a precious, perfect gift from the beginning.

Your dad and I already had two children, two girls, and we both really wanted a son.  I prayed every single day that I would have a boy.  Your dad did not want to find out if we were having a boy or a girl based on the sonogram so I waited a long nine months for your arrival.  While I was in the delivery room, I will never forget the moment you were born and your dad shouted 'IT'S A BOY!'.  I wish I could have bottled up that moment.  It was already a miracle, in my mind, that you were conceived and then you were, indeed, a boy.

When you turned 4, you started to have problems with your speech. It started off as minor stuttering and then changed into pretty severe stammering.  We took you to some specialists and at one of the offices they decided to check your hearing.  They came to me and your dad and said that we needed to take you to an ear specialist immediately because you were almost completely deaf in both of your ears, but more specifically, your right ear.  A day or two later as I was driving to pick you up for that appointment, I remember crying out to the Lord for divine, supernatural healing.  We went to your appointment and they performed several extensive tests on your ears.  The doctor, with a puzzled look on his face, requested the results from 2 days earlier that had been sent over and compared them with your current results.  Your hearing wasn't only ok, it was beyond that - specifically in your right ear.  It was another precious, perfect gift from the Lord....a miracle.  I still have a copy of your test that I plan to show you when you are old enough to understand.  You still had a stammering issue, but with the help of a heaven sent specialist named Rachel, your speech was much better within a year's time.   It was during this year of your life that I prayed that the Lord would use you to speak to me - and boy, has he answered that prayer.

When you were in kindergarten last year I got a phone call from your teacher.  She said she wanted to make sure she hadn't hurt your feelings when you told her that you made it snow.  She said she questioned you about how on earth you made it snow and that you said, "I didn't make it snow.  I prayed to Heaven for snow and God answered my prayer."  You have always boldly, and loudly given God glory and it humbles me.  I have seen you pray for rain on a hot, scorching day and that same day, or the next day, it rains or at least sprinkles for a little bit.  I have had you lay your hands on me when I don't feel well, and pray for healing.  I almost always feel better.  I have to believe that the Lord is building up your Faith and Trust in Him and I cannot wait to see how He uses you for His Kingdom.

I love the things you say.  Some of my favorites are:

"Mom, did you pray for the Lord to help you find it?  (I said no)  Well, quit complaining and getting fuh-rus-tuh-rated and pray.  (I did & found what I was looking for about 1 minute later).  See, all you gotta do is pray mom....duh!"

Me: "Caleb quit being so loud!"
Caleb: "Mom, God did not create me to be quiet and He didn't create you to be that way either"

"I don't want to do that, but because I am a southern gentleman, I will"

"Every time I say yes, just pretend like I am saying yes ma'am, that way you don't have to keep correcting me"

I have been really focused on listening to your prayers the past couple of weeks and I am always blown away by the things you pray.  Now, don't get me wrong, you pray that you get a blue face at school and that you and your sister would try not to fight so much, etc... but you also pray things like this... and this is what I have been focused on :

 - "Lord, you are so Heavenly, I lift up everyone in my family and school to you and Lord, I pray that you would show them just a little bit of your light and keep shining it on them"

 - "Oh, Father - you are so Creative.  You are the Creator, God.  You created everything.  You created me and the family you gave me so perfectly."

 - "Lord, I pray for the kids at my school, even the ones that are mean to me, will you please show your heart to theirs?"

 - "Lord, I am happy that one day you are going to come back, and there are going to be flashes of lighting and thunder, and everyone will know that you are the Lord"

 - "I am glad that I have a relationship with you, my Father, did you hear me when I was under the slide today praying to you telling you that I am glad for that?"

 - "Lord, I love my little sister so much and I don't want her to be scared or feel uncomfortable.  Please take away what she's scared of and make her feel safe. I love her too much to know that she feels scared."
You are not mimicking my prayers.  You are praying these things straight from your heart and the relationship that you have with the Lord, at age 6, and it blows me away.  When I listen to your prayers, I know that you are in love with Jesus - not the things that he can do for us, but what He has already done.

Because of your faithfulness to the Lord, Caleb, I am humbled and I am more than honored to be your mother.  You bring such laughter and joy into our lives and the lives of others.  I thank God that he hand picked me, before I came to know the Lord, to be a mother to a son like you. You have such a forgiving heart, a true love for people, and a faith that can move mountains.  I cannot wait to see what God's will is for your life, but I know that whatever it is, you will make sure that God gets the glory - you already live your life that way, it comes naturally to you.

Love,
Mom