A child's birthday: time to reflect and look ahead . . . and eat cake.

Today my middle son turns nine. We're back to a nice set of numbers for ages for the next six months: 6, 9 and 12! Nice and easy to remember.

It is probably only mothers that think about what a birthday started out as – a birth! This particular birth took place in a Japanese hospital. My stay in the hospital lasted about 20 days and qualified as a full-on immersion experience. I got to experience traditional Japanese pillows (filled with beans), Japanese food (including tentacles), compulsory IV drips, post-birth Japanese underwear (don't ask), and a Caesarean section without adequate pain medication following it. I discovered that kimonos don't fit all that well over a pregnant tummy. The compulsory pyjamas were wrap-around style. Even the L size didn't fit me all that well during my just-in-case 10 inpatient days before he was born (I had a mild blood condition they were watching). It just made it round my girth, but was too long and gaped at the cross-over.

And there are many more things I could tell you, even nine years later, but I won't bore you.

There were many challenging things about those days, so many that I prayed fervently that God would allow us to have our third child in Australia, a prayer he graciously answered during our home assignment 2 1/2 years later.

But on a day like today it is better to focus on the young man who is growing up under my care. His early years were fraught with much frustration and clashing of heads. As we understand him more and as he grows and learns self-control, we're getting along better much of the time. This is very satisfying. I'm looking forward to seeing this determined, intelligent young man as he discovers himself more and more and finds out what God is preparing him for.


But for today, we're enjoying him exploring his presents and look forward to a family party this evening, with lots of goodies, and a nice cake.