So...being the fantastic man that he is - my hubby gave me this when Danika came into the world.
I love it. I wear it often, and it always reminds me of this precious little life that changed our lives forever when she danced into the world on December 29, 2006. I hope it means as much to her someday as it does to me.
So, when we found out this next little bundle was going to be a boy, my mind started racing...what do you give a man that he can pass down to his son? I wanted to return the sentiment to Doug and give him a gift when this precious little boy made his entrance that would be meaningful for a father and son. But considering my husband doesn't even wear a wedding band, jewelry was out of the question. A gun was actually the first thing to come to mind. In a hunting family like ours, that would be very appropriate and meaningful. But my budget was a little modest to get something like I would really want, so I kept pondering....and I decided on a knife.
If you know Doug - he is obsessed with pocket knives. He loves them. He carries one ALL THE TIME. He had one in his tuxedo pocket when we got married...to this day, he has one in his pocket when he works, when he preaches, when we travel, when we are just hanging out at home...he always has a pocket knife. And he is picky about them...he likes certain features and brands. It is just one of those things that makes Doug "Doug".
As a matter of fact - a pocket knife is the very first gift he ever gave me. :) June 2002 - We had only been dating a few weeks and I was coming home with him to meet his parents for the first time before I left on a long trip for the summer. In the car, he pulled out this little package and gave me my very first pocket knife. It may not sound romantic to you, but it was actually this very unique, cool, personal thing that could not have been more meaningful to me. It was just so "him." I still have this great knife...I have carried it often, and it completely reminds me of this man who protects me and loves me and gives of himself so much for me.
Anyway - the more I thought about it, the more that it settled in my mind that a great knife would be perfect. I found one that was similar to the one he gave me in 2002....a little bigger, a different color, but the same brand and style he loves. But I wanted to engrave something on it. I really wanted this to be meaningful...and I was somewhat stumped as to what to do. Engraving John's birthdate didn't seem like what I was looking for...and something that only had meaning for Doug would defeat the purpose of the "passing down" of the gift...so I had to think. I started searching scripture for a passage that seemed right.
Proverbs 23:15-16
"My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;
my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right."
This is the passage that resonated with my heart on many levels.
Someday, I know that this is what we both would want to say to our son. We want him to know how important it is to be wise and to "speak what is right." We want him to wisely choose to know and love the God who made him and died for him... to live his life in a way that speaks with his actions and his words that God's Truth is the only treasure that matters in this life and it is the only thing we will take with us to the next.
I also chose this scripture because I have no doubt in my mind or heart that this is what Doug's parents have communicated to him and have seen come to fruition. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that his Dad is proud of him...that his Mom was proud of him...because he has embodied these words as an adult. I know that when I met his family that first time in 2002 they both just beamed when they talked about him because they were so proud of the man he had become...a man who honored God, chose wisely to follow him, and who spoke rightly of God's Truth with his lips and his actions. I know that all the way to her core, Susan rejoiced at the man Doug became. I know Dana's heart is glad to have a son who has chosen rightly to honor God with his life. When I read these verses for the first time, they resonated so deeply within me because I saw the passing down from one generation to the next of this wisdom and joy already: from Doug's parents, to him, and someday to our children. I pray it continues for generations to come.
When Doug's mom was first diagnosed with cancer, I remember very specifically her looking me in the eye and saying, "How can I be upset? I have lived long enough to see my daughter become a godly woman, marry a godly man, and live a life serving Him. I have seen my son become a godly man, marry a godly woman, and live a life serving Him. I have total peace not only about where I am going when I die, but about the family I would leave behind. Anything else is just a bonus." When I read Proverbs 23:15-16, it was like I could hear Susan speaking it: "My son, because your heart is wise, my heart is glad; my inmost being rejoices when your lips speak what is right." There was no doubt - it had to be that passage for the engraving.
On July 28th, we went to the hospital for a planned c-section and Johnathan Douglas Bierer entered the world. It was a fantastic day. And when we got settled back in a room and they brought John to me, I gave Doug his gift. It was so fun. He loved it...and everything was just so cool.
And then he had to totally out-do me. :) He pulled this box out of his bag and gave it to me and told me he loved me. I opened it and there was the most beautiful ruby bracelet I have ever seen. It was perfect...my husband just knows me so well. It was completely my style...as if I had picked it out myself. And it was meaningful on many levels. Rubies are John's birthstone for July. Doug also knew that when his mom died his sister graciously let me have a ruby ring that had belonged to Susan. The bracelet would look beautiful with it. It was just the perfect symbol to tie together John's birth and Susan's life and to remember this emotional roller-coaster summer that we have survived hand-in-hand together. Awesome gift.
The bracelet.
The ring.
John and my very emotional and meaningful jewelry.
Thank you Doug for the lovely, fitting gift. I hope yours meant to you even a portion of what mine meant to me.
Thank you, God, for the blessings of family, marriage and kids. Sometimes I'm not as grateful as I should be.
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