Introducing Lao Da

Lest you think I'm already starting a bad habit of parental favoritism and was only going to introduce you to Lao Er (or Sami as I can openly call him now!), we're also pleased for you to meet Lao Da: Micah James.  Micah was able to spend the first ten months or so of his life with his birth mother, but circumstances unknown to me prevented her from being able to continue to care for him. I have a million questions about who she was, what she was like, how hard it was to give him up.  Questions that will probably never have answers but will most likely be permanent residents in my mind.  Nevertheless, he is such a happy little boy.  It's as if the rough patches of his life haven't left their indelible, dark mark to erase his smile or quench his curious spirit.

Like Sami, Micah's actual birthday is unknown, so we chose for him to share a February 21 birthday with his cousin Jonathan.  The second birthday festivities should be quite raucous when we're in Louisville next year with Chris & Sarah!

The reason we chose the name Micah James for our little guy does not have as elaborate a story as Samuel Jedidiah's.  Mainly, the Old Testament book Micah and the New Testament epistle James were the reasons we named him such.  Within the text is a rich treasury of truth & wisdom that we have already begun to pray into his little life:

That he would be filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, with justice & might (Micah 3:8)

That he would desire for the Lord to teach him His ways so that he may walk in His paths (Micah 4:2)

That he would walk in the name of the Lord his God forever and ever (Micah 4:5)

That he would do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8)

That he would look to the Lord, wait on the Lord, and let the Lord be a light to him (Micah 7:7-8)

That he would love the God who pardons iniquity, passes over transgression, and delights in steadfast love (Micah 7:18)

That the trials of his life would produce steadfastness and faith (James 1:2-4)

That he would be a doer of the word, not merely a hearer (James 1:22)

That he would care for widows & orphans in their affliction (James 1:27)

That he would have a faith that is alive & active (James 2:14-26)

That he would humbly submit himself to God & draw near to Him (James 4:7-10)

We had so much fun with Micah in the care center at the beginning of the month.  He is old enough to begin manifesting his little personality.  He laughs, smiles, points, toddles around in his Spiderman shoes, and eats, eats, and eats (usually with double fists).  He has the kitchen staff at the care center wrapped around his wee, chubby finger: several times he wandered toward that area of the house and returned with a new chunk of bread to gnaw on.  We can tell already that he will not be easy to keep up with, but we both agree that we're looking forward to the challenge.

I love his soft curls.  I love his toothy grin.  I love his fat, kissable cheeks.  I love the sound of his gentle breath when he sleeps.  I love the unique fold in his left ear.  I love that the day when he gets to come home and never be taken care of by anyone else again will eventually come.  I love him for the little boy that he is and for the man that he will grow up to be.  Our Micah James.