Wednesday, October 26, 2011

How We Pick our Childrens' Birthdays

A good friend recently asked me if it was a lot of pressure to choose your kids' birthdays.

The answer: YES.

Not in a stressful way, but in the sense that when they're older and they understand that Spencer and I actually got to choose their birthdays, I want there to be something meaningful, or a good story behind it.

When I was pregnant with Isaac, we decided on his birthday, October 7 by looking up all kinds of 10:7 verses in the Bible. None seemed to fit; but we came across Psalm 107 and in particular, loved verses 19-21...

"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for man."

You see, we knew that apart from God's intervention, we knew the likely scenario. We knew that we'd be faced with the unthinkable task and heartache of burying our son. And in the midst of that, we clung to the hope found in these words... the fact that by His great grace... the grave would not be the end. We are still so grateful for that hope.

When I became pregnant with Eliana and knew that I would need a repeat c-section, we decided to continue the tradition of choosing our kids' birthdays based on verses in scripture. Her birthday, March 4, was picked based on 1 Peter 3:4...

"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight..."

While I am not sure that I would currently characterize Eliana's spirit as quiet, she does have a gentleness about her that is simply precious. She comforts her baby dolls, is very tuned in to peoples' feelings, and even loves to give her little brother (aka, my stomach) kisses. It is so sweet.

Earlier this week I had a doctor's appointment, and tentatively scheduled my c-section with Jacob. (Did I even share his name with you all yet?!). We are hoping for a delivery date of December 28. There were a lot of 12:28 verses that jumped out to me, but our favorite is Hebrews 12:28...

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..."

There is so much truth wrapped up in that verse, and it is our desire that Jacob cling to all of the truth and the hope that is found in these words.

So there it is... how we deal with the pressure of selecting our kids' birthdays. I hope that as they grow up, Eliana and Jacob would cherish the intentionality with which their birthdays were chosen and view them as incredibly special!

9 comments:

Taylor said...

It's really special to be reminded of Isaac's and Eliana's special verses, and get to see Jacob's. Thank you for sharing!

Michelle said...

just so you know, on your sidebar where you introduce yourself, it sounds like Eliana is in Heaven with Isaac. it says two in Heaven, talks about him, then immediately lists her. but she sounds very much alive in this blog post! maybe it's just me, i tend to be blond in more ways than just my hair, but thought i'd point it out.

Jennifer said...

So how do you chose which numbers to look at? Do you start with a general time frame in which you know you will be ready and the doctor is available and then look at more than one verses that related to more than one date? Can wait to meet Jacob!!

Kristin said...

I love that...I want to go an try to find verses for my kids birthdates!

Miranda said...

How special <3!

Sarah St. Onge said...

Hi Stacy,

I don't know if you remember me. I am an O angel mommie. We exchanged emails while I was pregnant with my daughter, Beatrix.

I have read your blog all during my pregnancy, and since she passed away (almost 11 months ago....)

I don't post, usually, but tonight, I thought I would.

My husband and I have decided, should we ever have another son, to call him Jacob. While I have no idea of I will ever be choosing a birthday for a son, we chose that name, because I feel that we have contended with God. And after having been wounded in such a terrible way, we have come through triumphant.

What a beautiful name.... I find such meaning in Isaac's name, and now in Jacob's.

Thank you for being such an inspiration.

Stacy D said...

Jennifer~~ Yes... we typically have a range of a few days when we know it will be, so we check the verses for those days. So for Jacob, we checked 12:26, 12:27 and 12:28 verses. We found several 12:28 verses we really liked, so requested that date. If you are going to choose the day your child/children are born, it's a fun way to do it!

Miche said...

I remember this was how you did it. Still very cool to see it written out.

We chose L's birthday because my OB was flying to Hawaii directly after my c/s.

As in, she left the OR and hopped on a plane :)

Evan said...

That is a GREAT date.. It happens to also be my birthday.. I wish you and your family all the luck and happiness in the world. God will always watch over us!

Jessi