Jerard & Jovaun: Faith to FaithPrøve

Have you ever loved someone so much until it almost literally hurt? When Jerard and I were first married, people used to tell us all the time “When you have kids, your life will change forever.” And we thought, “Sure, we get it.” We really thought we knew, but actually we had no idea how parenting would rock our world in the best way possible. Years later when our first son was born, we were so enamored with him. Every little expression, grin, coo was exciting to us. I remember just staring at him in amazement as he would nap. A couple years later when we found out our second son was coming, I became afraid that we wouldn't be able to love him as much as our first. I was so wrong. He stole our hearts right out of our chests and we've never been the same since. As they grew older, we would watch them play and get so much joy out of their interaction. They weren't doing anything special other than being silly, but we enjoyed every minute of it. How beautiful to think that God feels the same way about us. Even when we're not doing anything particularly special or holy, God delights in us. He loves us deeply, and He wants us not only to know it but to walk confidently in it. BELIEVE THE LOVE THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU. Of course you don't necessarily need to be a parent to understand deep love. God has various ways of revealing Himself. I do however thank Him for our experience. Becoming parents has opened our eyes to the depth of God’s love in profound ways. Our children are living, breathing proof of God’s affection toward us. Being parents has also taught us to be more compassionate. I remember working in a youth ministry prior to having children, and I was known for being pretty strict. It got back to me that one of the parents said the only reason I acted that way was because I didn't have kids. I was highly offended. Years later after becoming a parent, I had to admit they were absolutely right. Until our children become parents, they may never know just how deeply they are loved by us. They may never realize how many times we go ahead of them to protect them from unforeseen danger, and how other times we go behind them to clean up their messes. They may never understand the sacrifices great and small that have been made on their behalf. Yet as parents, it is our great pleasure to do this. I believe Jesus would say the same about you.