The Fire Within: Reflections on Parenthood, Grace, and the Greatest Gift of All

I remember with absolute clarity when our oldest son was born. It was supposed to be cold and we had several inches of snow on the ground. It was early March and it was 81 degrees. I remember holding my beautiful baby boy. I remember the doctor, the nurses and the color of the room.

And on August 9, ten and a half years later, I held my second son. I remember it vividly as if it were yesterday. After miscarriages and testing we were told that we would never have a second child. It was 81 degrees that day. It was a bright sunshiny day. And the light inside me was on fire —again, as I held my newborn son.

The Fire of Love Across Generations

Since then I have seen my oldest son have theee children and hold them with the same rapture. And as I held them I felt the fire again.

And this week our youngest son had a daughter. And I saw the instant love in his eyes as he held his daughter. And as I held her, the fire returned.

All these experiences are profoundly supernatural. We get to see God’s creation. We get to feel God’s grace and uninterrupted flow of His goodness. And someday when I can no longer hear or see or talk. I may not even remember their names . But the faces of my loved ones will be indellibly marked on my soul.

The Lasting Impact of Parenting

Every Christmas I think of a boy that I coached who gave me a baseball Christmas ornament. When he pitched, if he had a bad inning or two , his father would stand in the outfield and yell — sissy, woman, and other expletives at him. He is the only parent that I ever told NOT to come to games. One time, I went to the apartment building where they lived to get a release signed and found his father passed out on the sofa with a whiskey bottle by his side. I wonder every year how that boy,who is now a man ,has fared.

Grace Over Wounds: A Call to Parents

Sadly I hear similar stories from some very high functioning corporate executives. The terrifying fact is that we can either grace our children or damn them with wounds that we give them that never seem to heal. Our society today is a wash with millions of sons and daughters that are seeking the affection that their mothers and fathers never gave them. And they repeat it by giving their best to leadership in the marketplace but utterly fail at home.

So here is what I told my sons. Start by holding your tiny helpless baby snugly . But as they grow,gradually and wisely loosen your grip. Hold their lives with God’s pressure and mold them with His love.

The Light That Guides Us All

This is a day of the year when we anticipate the celebration of the greatest birth of all time. The birth that changed everything. Per scripture ”It is the true light that enlightens every man. “ Indeed, it is the fire within us that shines no matter what our circumstances are.