Tonight I was the sole parent and, as usual, was looking forward to my quiet time. The three-year-old was put to bed first. After that, I went into the older boys room and we read about how Gideon was to defeat the Midianites. God told Gideon to reduce his army of 22,000 down to 300. Sounds like something a democrat would do, hey? Anyway, God wanted to be sure that it was well known that He was the one who gave Gideon the victory, it was not of themselves. I then gave them 10 minutes to play a game on their MP3 player and went into the hall. I could hear a voice coming from the 3-year-old's room. I went in to start his music box to get him to sleep and he said, "Mom! I'm talking to God!" Of course, I told him he could do that as long as he wanted, and left the room. 
In the hall, I thought about this child and his faith journey. Before we had him (between child 2 and 5), we watched a daughter walk home with Jesus and then lost another baby before Jack zoomed into our lives. Through those years, I sought God's wisdom daily, hourly, trying to make sense of the tragedies that seem to be attracted to us. When Jack arrived, he was perfect. I was thankful and knew he was like the Joseph of the 21st century. I'd guess Joseph was potty trained, but there are some similarities anyway. Throughout the Bible, God records people blessing other people. Blessings were a powerful and sought after possession, and also had permanent ramifications for the ones who got, and the ones who failed to get. Sadly, as parents, we don't have as much wisdom for the first child as we do later on, but Jack came in the blessing phase of my Bible study life, when I'd realized this power. Since the day he was born, I have blessed him every night. I must confess, that in the beginning, my motives as a sleep-deprived, over-nursed, sore mother were to get this kid to sleep, so the blessing went more like this, "Jack, I bless you with tired, heavy eyes, tired arms, heavy legs and a sleepy body. May you rest in peace, quickly, and sleep knowing God is always with you." I got more creative after I got more sleep. These blessings soon became the character traits I wanted each child to have. I bless them with wisdom, a love for learning, compassion for others, great faith in Jesus, love for the others, and leadership abilities.. and good health, of course.
As I stood out in the hall, while Jack was busy talking to God, I promptly re-entered the room of the other boys and told them what I'd been doing for Jack more habitually, and that I wanted to bless them more regularly too. I have certainly blessed them before, but re-committed to doing this for them nightly in addition to our regular prayers. My older kids are great, and as I've prayed for them and watched them develop their gifts I can see a great heart of gentleness and compassion in my 8 year old, and great wisdom and faith in my 10 year old. These are not their only gifts, but I am thankful that tonight I've learned how to give good gifts to my children. Not gifts that plug in, but gifts that turn them on to life and passion for God.
