Back to School
I’m going back to school. Well, kinda. I don’t have to don a backpack or make a p.b. and j and put it in a Transformers metal lunchbox. I’ll attend class from the comfort of my couch with a cup of coffee in my hand. I’m beginning University of Missouri’s Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program. As part of that, our teachers asked us to write an introduction about where we grew up and our dreams. It was fun to write. I hope it’s fun to read:
I was born in a town of 900 people where everybody basically looked alike, thought alike, and acted alike. Thirty years later I moved across the ocean to a town of 1.5 million people where everybody basically looked alike, thought alike, and acted alike. I liked the second place better than the first, so I want to go back there. In the middle I dreamed of being everything from a fireman to a professional wrestler to a doctor to a preacher. I tried some of those things, and I have the scars to prove it. Today, I’m still balancing the urge to be responsible and figure out what I want to be when I grow up and the desire to never grow up.
Here’s to milk mustaches!
What’s In A Name?
We chose to name our son Jack Braddock Howard. There wasn’t a lot of debate between us, no sleepless nights tossing and turning, wondering if he’d be scarred forever by our choosing the wrong name. We didn’t want to wait until he was born, size him up, and then choose between five or six names that we had picked out. We just liked this one.
I think at first we liked Jack for a lot of superficial reasons. It’s not trendy. Though it is one of the most popular names in recent years, you can find Jack’s in almost every generation. It’s strong. The curt nature of the word smacks of a rugged man, a man’s man. Plus, there are a lot of Jack’s we like, though our son is named for none of them: Bauer, Johnson, Nicholson, London, Black, or even C.S. Lewis, whose friends called him Jack.
Then one night, Sarah and I looked up the meaning of Jack. It’s a derivative of John, but it’s meaning was so apropos for the stage of life we’re in. It means, “God’s grace,” or “God has been gracious.” At the time we found out Sarah was pregnant, we were living in a free house driving a car that was given to us in a town we hadn’t even heard of two years ago. We were seeing his grace in his provision for us, in the friends he was giving, and in his guidance to places we never would have chosen but were becoming increasingly more grateful for day by day. Grace indeed.
We kicked around a lot of middle names, but we kept coming back to Braddock. We really wanted to honor Sarah’s family by giving our son her maiden name. Again, looking up the meaning made us 100% certain. From Old English, Braddock means “a broad spreading oak.” Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Could we have a greater hope for our son, that he would love God and his word, that he would dwell in it, sink his roots deep in it and produce great fruit for the kingdom of God?
So, what’s in a name? For our son, many of our hopes and dreams reside there. We believe that Jack will be a man who grows to love Christ and others well, who tastes grace and produces much fruit that will cause others to taste and see that the Lord is good. My daily prayer has been that he will be more faithful than Sarah and I have been, that he will follow God closely and be spared many of the pains of disobedience and sin. For that to happen, he’ll need lots of grace. I’m so glad we serve a Father who loves to give good gifts to his children.
Welcoming Jack
Few moments of life can rival childbirth in the depth of emotion, joy, and excitement. Those few seconds where I went from pregnant to parent sure do pack an incredible punch.
From the time contractions woke me up at 5 am, to the time Jack made his entrance at 9:38 pm Friday night, I carry a mental album of snapshots from the day. Some are intense and painful, some are tender and intimate. Some made me laugh, some made me cry. Reflecting on the details day, I see so many evidences of God’s grace. Not only were we well taken care of by our doctors and nurses, but everything unfolded without complications or major concerns. Jerry was amazing to me in all the ways he served and loved me, and adding to our family has only made me love him more. To top it all off, I’m holding a beautiful baby boy who just gets more amazing every day.
I wish I could adequately share my mental snapshots, but some things are just meant to be stored up. I have certainly gained new perspective for how Mary “treasured all of these things up in her heart” (Luke2:51).
These truly are special days. Thanks for journeying with us as we welcome baby Jack to the adventure of life.