March 2004

Answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime.
1 Samuel 1:11

Who could love a child more than his own mother? What will a mother do for her son? How can she make the best life possible for him and his future?

For the first time in my life, I am seeing a child from this perspective. Growing up working as a babysitter and camp counselor I have always appreciated children, but they were always somebody else’s. But now, I have a child of my own. No, he is not of my flesh, but we are connected by something just as strong. He is my godson; his name is Samuel.

Shortly before I left China last May due to the SARS epidemic I attended the wedding of Xiao Jin, my Chinese “older sister.” I met her the first month I came to Jiu Jiang because she owns a Chinese knot shop near my church. My first time there she pointed out her Jesus calendar on the wall, thereby communicating that she too was a Christian. For nine months I went to her shop every Sunday after church and chatted with her and her parents.

By the time I returned in August, she was pregnant. One of the highest honors she could bestow upon me was to ask me to be ganma or godmother to her child. Now I too am a part of this Chinese family. Xiao Jin’s parents are my Chinese godparents. She is my sister. Her son is my godson. And any side comments I make about wishing I had my own child are hurriedly whisked away by Xiao Jin telling me that Samuel is my son; that when I held him for the first time he became my own.

Naming was the next step. While the father’s father chooses the child’s given name, it’s the godparents who select the child’s nickname that all the family members usually call him. In explaining the name I picked, I pulled out their Chinese Bible and showed them in the first Book of Samuel how Hannah dedicated her son to God. Doing so expressed my hopes that this man-child will also be the Lord’s. His grandmother especially likes the name because when he is older and I have been long gone from China his name will always be a reminder of his foreign godmother.

This week has marked another important milestone for us. Sammy turned 100 days old on Tuesday. The 30-day birthday is noteworthy because it’s his introduction to society at large. 100 days is more abstract in that it expresses the family’s wish that he may live to be 100 years old. We celebrated by having a dinner of Western food (their first time ever trying it) and giving presents.

Even before Sammy was born, his grandparents have been talking about the day he would go to America to visit me. In symbolic support of this, Jo and I gave him a little piggy bank with some U.S. dollars inside. It’s the beginning of the long journey ahead, which will bring him to me in years to come. In response to this, his parents have promised that they will fill this piggy bank many times over so that he will be able to go to the United States not only to visit but perhaps even to study.

But in the meantime, I will enjoy the time I have with this perfect little creature. I may not always know what role I should play in formal situations, but I certainly know how to treat Sammy. I cannot love him more than his mother does, but ultimately my job is to love him the way that my Father in heaven loves me and offer my prayers for his health and future. Please join me in these prayers and also pray for me in my role as his godmother. May the Lord bless the time we have together and bring us together again in His perfect timing.

mizpah,

Becky

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 86