#348.2 – “It’s Weirder Just Having One”

“So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.” - Genesis 21:14-17
I thought having two kids instead of four was strange… then we got to see what having one is like.
It was Grant’s turn to choose where we ate after church this past Sunday. I don’t know if it was that, or what, but he chose to stay the course and stick with that plan instead of taking up the offer given to him by his grandparents to come over to their house Sunday afternoon. So it was just me and Sarah and Grant for lunch that day, which was weird… a good weird… but weird nonetheless.
First off, let me just say that lunch is a whole lot cheaper with three eating instead of six. Second, everything is a whole lot more quiet without the girls and Joshua! And third, but not least, there is an unusual dynamic with only one child. You can spend a whole lot more time one-on-one with only one than with four (I know that is hard to believe, but it is true!).
I told you all about how Sarah planned and prayed that we would have four kids – two of one sex and then two of another (by the way, she has since told me that she DID, in fact, ask God to give us girls first… so if any of you out there are planning a family, or even grandkids, and you would like to rent my wife as an intercessor on your behalf, we would be happy to negotiate a fair price with you!). And I told you about how one great advantage of that ‘system’ is that each kid has a built-in playmate for life. Well, that is very good, and I certainly wouldn’t want to change that for anything. But one thing that is also true about having four (especially having two and two) is that having one-on-one time with any of them is very unusual.
But that is exactly where we found ourselves Sunday. After lunch, we went home and I offered to play some games with Grant. He quickly took me up on that, and we played for quite a while. Then, one of his best friends from our neighborhood came over, so I bowed out to let them play together like they wanted. But that time I had with him was a precious one to me, and I was grateful for it.
I am thankful that we serve a one-on-one kind of God. He never has to divide His attention from me; He is always 100% there with me, through thick and thin. He is good beyond words to me, and He is equally good to everyone else in the world… all at the same time… giving 100% of Himself and His attention to each one.
Lord, You truly are awesome in the manifestation of Your presence. May You be lifted up in my praise today.

Daniel