OYFT Gedian

TRAIN UP A CHILD

Samson’s parents followed in a long line of unlikely parents
in the Old Testament. For many of these parents, until the
Lord intervened, it felt as though they couldn’t start a fam-
ily of their own. But God had a plan for this family, a plan
which would ultimately extend to the whole nation. Samson
would deliver his people! But there was a cost.

Samson would need to be raised in a very particular way.
The way he was raised would directly impact his ability to
accomplish his purpose. It’s as if God knew what Samson
would need to accomplish his unique purpose given his
unique personality. Yet, as you read the story, his parents
seem lost. They know there’s something special about Sam-
son, but they don’t know how to raise him in such a way to
bring out that unique purpose. You can almost hear the bur-
den in Manoah’s voice when he cries out to God for help.

As a parent, Manoah asked a question which resonates with
all of us: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the
man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to
bring up the boy who is to be born.” We just want to know
the absolute best way to raise our children. Thousands of
books are sold, millions of websites listed, hundreds of
conversations are had, and advice given seeking to answer
this very question: How should I bring up my child?

It’s a question every parent asks. Manoah offers yet one
more place to seek out some parenting advice. Manoah
prayed. He sought God’s advice.
As you seek to raise Gedian, consider pleading with God.
Ask God how you should raise Gedian. He knows exactly
what is needed for Gedian to grow into the person they
were created to be and to accomplish the purpose they were
created to accomplish. Seek God’s advice, and when it’s of-
fered, be sure to stick to it.

Raising a child is an exhausting endeavor. How have you been caring
for yourself in the midst of it all?











Month 7: Samuel

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.
And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only
look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your
servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the
days of his life...”

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord
and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to
his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. So in the course of
time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named
him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was,
along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of
wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the
bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to
him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman
who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child,
and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give
him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”
And he worshiped the Lord there.

1 Samuel 1:10-11a, 19-20, 24-28, NIV

I SURRENDER ALL - EVEN YOU, MY LITTLE
ONE

Hannah begged God for a child. She even bartered with
God, promising to give the child over to a life of service
in the temple. Once he was born, and weaned, she gave
Samuel back to the Lord. He would be raised in the temple
as a child being groomed for full-time ministry. He would
be raised not by his parents, but by the community of God.

While this is an extreme example, there’s something beauti-
ful about surrendering a child over to the community of
God.

While you will likely not hand Gedian over to be raised in
the temple by pastors, priests or other clergy, it is true that
we are called to give our child over to God. Daily, we should
surrender all—even our little ones. But more than just giv-
ing our child to God, we are called to hand our children over
to God’s community. It’s not our job to raise our child alone,
but to raise them together alongside other believers.

By bringing our children to church, dropping them off at
Sunday school, having them sit in on our small groups and
Bible studies, we are—in a sense—handing them over to
God’s community to be raised. While less dramatic than
Samuel’s story, it is no less beautiful.

Consider making this your prayer for Gedian:
“I give my child to you, Lord. For their whole life they will be given over
to you, Lord.”
The best way to raise Gedian is to hand them daily over to
God, and allow them to live with the community of God at
a local church.

By the seventh month, it’s not uncommon for a child to sleep an entire
night. There’s nothing more beautiful than a full night’s sleep. How
much have you grown to appreciate rest and the benefits it provides?











Month 8: Ichabod

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near
the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God
had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were
dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her
labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t
despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or
pay any attention.
She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from
Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths
of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The Glory has
departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

1 Samuel 4:19-22, NIV

GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON Gedian

These were difficult times. It was felt by many that God had
deserted them. Their ark was taken, and their faith ruined.
Her family was dead, and she would soon follow. It was truly
a dark day in the nation of Israel, especially in this particular
family. In the midst of these tumultuous times, a new life
began.

There’s a whole genre of fiction that focuses on the hypo-
thetical end of the world—whether from natural disasters,
zombies, or a virus. These stories often highlight couples in
the midst of an apocalyptic world, wondering “Do we re-
ally want to bring a child into this world?” These characters,
barely surviving in a broken world muse “How could we
dare to bring a child into this world! Why would we wish
this upon our little one?”

These fictitious stories represent well the feelings of this
particular mother in the book of Samuel. The world was
ending, as far as she was concerned, and there was little
hope. She was desperate. But what makes this story even
more painful is that she passed this intense sense of loss
onto her child by naming him Ichabod, which means “the
glory has departed.”

She was wrong, of course—God wasn’t done yet. The
world wasn’t over. There was hope. There always was (and

still is). But she had given up and passed her hopeless future
onto her child. The only glimmer of hope we see in this
story is spoken by one of the midwives: “Do not despair,
you have given birth!” With a new child comes new hope. If
only thismother could have seen it that way.
Even in the darkest of times, when you feel that the world
is closing in on you, don’t make the mistake this mother
makes. Don’t pass your despair on to Gedian. While your
world might seem dark and hopeless, God has not forsaken
the future. God has not forsaken Gedian’s future. Where
there is life, there is hope. With God, there is always a hope
that lies within you. The greatest gift you can give Gedian is
to believe. If not for yourself, then believe for them—that
God has good things in store for the future.

By the eighth month, it’s not uncommon for a child to be able to sit
up. Throughout their life, so far, someone has always had to give them
support. What is it like to watch Gedian begin supporting himself?











Month 9: Solomon

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and
made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solo-
mon. The Lord loved him

2 Samuel 12:24, NIV

YOU ARE NOT Gedian

Affair. Adultery. War. Death. Murder. These are the makings
of a true drama. And these are the circumstances that sur-
round the birth of little Solomon. His father, King David,
was a great man. However, he made a number of foolish
mistakes; one after the other until they culminated in the
birth of Solomon.

It is poetic that Solomon went on to become one of the wis-
est kings to ever live. As we read in 1 Kings, “Solomon’s wis-
dom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the
East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt” (1 Kings
4:30). Conceived as a result of David’s foolish mistakes, Sol-
omon was able to rise above this to become someone truly
wise. Why? Because, as this passage keenly explains, “the
Lord loved him.”

As a parent, you are bound to make mistakes. You are bound
to pass some of these mistakes and tendencies onto Gedi-
an. Rest assured that all the mistakes and foolishness in the
world can’t change the way God feels about your little one.
God loves Gedian—plain and simple. And because of that,
the mistakes you make don’t have to define Gedian’s future.

Regardless of what you’ve done or how much you’ve ac-
complished, remember that God’s plans for Gedian will
most likely be different from your own. Embrace the dif-
ference, and trust that God can work in Gedian’s life in His
own unique way.









Month 10: Immanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will
conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14, NIV

CHILDREN MEAN HOPE

The Israelites had wandered into their nation, experienced
the chaos of the Judges, the ups and downs of the good
and bad kings, were sent into Exile, and eventually returned.
Their history was riddled with success and failure, hope and
despair. In the midst of this chaos, God sends the prophet
Isaiah in with a message of hope. A child was born, and
he would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
God hadn’t forsaken them. God was with them.

Hope wouldn’t come to them through a leader, power, mili-
tary strength, wealth, or strategic allegiance. It would come
through the birth of a child. This is very fitting, for an in-
fant is by its very nature a symbol for hope. A child, fragile
and vulnerable to the world, is cared for with the hope that
they might one day grow into the person God intended.

A child represents all the potential in the world. They are
untapped energy with creative possibilities.

All the great things invented, all the great leaders who lead,
all the great movements that were started were begun by
someone who was at one time, a small infant, nestled in
thearms of their caregivers. As you hold your little one, and
you realize just how fragile and vulnerable they are, remem-
ber, that the world is open to them and God only knows
what might come from their life. Great things might be on
their horizon! So go ahead and quietly whisper to your little
one, “no pressure... but we’re expecting great things from
you.”

By the 10th month, it’s not uncommon for
a child to begin to crawl, scoot, or wiggle
their way around the room. What is it like

watching Gedian on the move?











Month 11: John

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill
country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a
loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed
is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greet-
ing reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is
she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Luke 1:39-45, NIV

THE BABIES WILL CRY OUT

Of all the people to witness to the greatness of Jesus, one
of the first was a baby who had yet to be born. Nestled in
his mother’s womb, John the Infant was so excited about the
coming of Jesus, that he leaps for joy. In fact, Elizabeth says
that it was his witness to the Lord’s presence that helped
her realize just how significant Mary’s child was, which in
turn lead to her proclaiming the beautiful “Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” This
proclamation has since been turned into one of the most
beautiful songs ever to be written, all because a little infant
in her mother’s womb got excited to be near the infant Jesus.

It’s funny to think that Gedian, while it was still in the womb,
had the capacity to recognize the presence of Jesus. Certain-
ly, we don’t think there were complex thoughts or abstract
reasoning about the nature of God happening at such an
early state, but we also know God’s presence is deeper and
more real than simply the thoughts we attach to him. Faith
is more than an assent to knowledge or abstract thought.
It’s simpler and more beautiful than what we know. And
however unlikely, it’s possible for an infant to experience it.

In other words, faith can be—and we pray that it is—alive
and well in the little soul of Gedian. And Gedian can—
through something as subtle as a leap of joy–testify to the
presence of Jesus. And maybe in some way, like Elizabeth,

something Gedian does, no matter how simple it is, might
stir in you the knowledge that Jesus is, in fact, very near. So
go ahead and watch Gedian, and see if you can see God
shine through somehow

It’s not uncommon for babies to begin to wave goodbye or other simple
gestures by 11 months. This is more than just a gesture, but a form
of early communication. Reflect on what you most look forward to

telling Gedian.











Month 12: Jesus

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who
was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But
Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:16-20, NIV

FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART

After the birth of Jesus, Mary was visited by a group of
shepherds. They had been sent by angels and came praising
and giving glory to God. Shepherds, the working, under-
class of society, were chosen as the first to celebrate the
birth of this new King, for his Kingdom would be ushering
in a kingdom that was not built on the wealth and privilege
of the rich.

Having a child was special enough, and yet something about
this child was even greater. Jesus was not a normal baby.
With all those who came to witness, Mary was watching.
Allof this, she treasured in her heart. She pondered them.
She thought about it. She stored them away for a time she
might need them.

It’s amazing how our little ones, holding them in those few
moments where they are actually still and quiet, force us to
think deeply. As it was for Mary, the ponderings of a par-
ent’s heart are a mystery.

As you look back on and celebrate the first year with Gedian,
allow the mystery and beauty to shine through all the sleep-
less nights, dirty diapers, and hungry cries. Allow your heart
to treasure up those special moments. Write them down.
Journal. Take photos.

Remember. So when life goes on, you might have those pre-
cious moments hidden away in the reserves of your heart
for a day when you might need them.

How does it feel to celebrate
Gedian’s first birthday?