There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called, Fingerprints, that starts:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.
Each Christmas I find my heart and my home flooded with memories of long-ago Christmases. Each one has its own distinct 'fingerprint'. We had our sons seven years apart....so Jeffrey, our oldest, had many Christmases with Mom and Dad all to himself. And oh did he have our undivided attention! I just couldn't imagine loving another child as much as I loved him. I feared that I couldn't 'mother' any child with the passion I had for this child. Yes...he was covered in God's fingerprints. I was happy to be the mother to this brilliant (of course!) precious child of God. I would dedicate my life to being the best mother I could be.
Jeffrey got on his knees every nite before bed and prayed for a baby brother. I tried my darndest to persuade him to pray for a baby 'sister'....to no avail! You know what they say about God always listening closely to the prayers of children. He did. And He sent us a new little set of fingerprints when Jeffrey was almost seven: Tommy. We were blessed with another brilliant (of course!) precious son.....and then there were two. The fingerprints continued.
We were going to name this new beautiful bundle, Ryan. Much to our chagrin, Jeffrey refused to call him 'Ryan', calling him 'Tom' after his favorite person in the world: his cousin and our Godchild, Tom. And although I had two gold little boy charms Jim had already had engraved with 'Jeffrey' and 'Tommy', you guessed it: Jeffrey won. We named our new little one Tommy! (Our Godson, Tom is Tommy's Godfather!)
The next Christmas we had two sons. They are the greatest gifts God could ever have sent us. I get very nostalgic each Christmas as the memories flood my heart and my mind with those long-ago memories. Sigh. They seem like just yesterday.
May you have a memorable day today. Be sure to look for the Fingerprints in your life this Friday in December....wherever you are in the world!
Stop by Beki's blog to read about more Fingerprints!
Thank you, David for the mention on Post of the Day!
Stop by his blog for some fine reads! You'll be glad you did!
26 comments:
Touching as always.I,too miss all the excitement of past Christmas's
when all our children were young.Happy though that they all live closeby and can come for Christmas day and also for the laughter of our grandchildren.
Carolyn
Morning, Carolyn! We ARE lucky they are close-by, aren't we?! There's nothing like that laughter. Nothing.
Sigh.. I was really missing my little ones from Virginia yesterday.. must be the season! Hugs.. Nel
Precious...just precious. What a sweet young Mama! Were you, what, 15? Love you dearly!
Nellie...Yup, tis the season alright! At least you saw them recently!!
Mel...LOL! Actually, I'm 29 in that picture! Almost 30 years ago!
Lovely. The top photo, what with the reddish hair and all, is close enough to my mother and me to give me a nice frisson.
Suldog: LOL!! Actually, That's just the aging and lighting of the photograph! My hair is actually very dark brown!!!
Decorating the tree with the many memorable ornaments makes me VERY nastalgic - there's so many thing that I miss about those days.... fingerprints on the doors .... they're gone, but the fingerprints on our hearts stay forever.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts & love, Carol.
Fingerprints on glass doors really touch me. You're right: the ones on our hearts are there forever. xoxoxox
You know I felt your love..I had my last daughter when I hit 40..almost 41 when I gave birth..Our oldest was 16 and youngest 8..I was so surprised, but the love this child bought to this house was unreal..and taught the other girls so much..Now they are all married and the joy they all bring with hubbies/grandchildren.
Can't beat it..
Oh, that is just the sweetest. What precious memories. :)
My oldest always prayers for a baby sister, seeing how he already has two brothers. ;)
Rosebud...Then you know what I mean! I lost a baby girl at 41. But that's a whole nother story!
Kat...Then you better brace yourself. I tell you...God listens to children's prayers!!
What a significant post, Carol. Christmas is so special because of the memories as well.
What a touching story!! Thank you so much.
What a sweet post! You are blessed :)
What beautiful photos and precious memories!
I remember Christmas mornings when my sons were little, yelling out from 5 a.m. on, "Is it time to get up yet?" So funny now.
To my Godmother,
I really like your Rose Creek Cottage blog. You certainly evoke this warm family nostalgic feeling. It is a very nice place to visit. When I was a young kid in Chesterland, I cherished the times I got to visit your house. Now I know why. You created a magical place. You are an artist and you create from your heart. It manifests in your home, in your kitchen, in your businesses, and in your family. Today I have a treasure chest in the middle of my living room. It's an ode to you. When I visited you as a child, you had the most magical treasure chest filled with the most wonderful games. I felt like your house was the kind of place I might find the wardrobe to Narnia. You inspired wonder in this child's eyes and joy in my heart.
To me you are a hero and you always will be.
The picture of you and Jeffrey is beautiful.
love,
Tom
this story is just adorable and warm! thanks for sharing =)
David...You're right: the memories make it even MORE significant.
Beki...Thank you for starting these Fingerprint Fridays!
Rebekah...I am blessed...and so are YOU!
Arstyclay....LOL! I remember those mornings!! It looks like we'll have another one of them this Christmas because the kids and grandkids are staying overnite Christmas Eve!! I can't wait!!!
Lemonshortbread...Thank you! Hope your sales are going well!
Tom....What can I say??? You just made my Christmas!!! I love you. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Oh, that first picture with you and your son, so heart touching. I can see your devotion. And that big ole tree, what a beauty.
And then your second son. A blessed life to be sure. Blessings in all manners.
This post brought tears to my eyes. Children are so precious. I have 3 children and 6 grandchildren, with two more on the way, (grandkids that is).
I'm intrigued with your ragamuffin dolls.
Thanks for coming by for a visit with Pappy. Always glad to have new readers. Come back and visit anytime. Have a great week. Pappy
A lovely post. Amy often asks for a brother or sister but I'm afraid even she wouldn't be able to cope!
CJ xx
I love this touching post! What a precious photo of you as a young Mother....where does the time go?! I heard someone on the radio say that he now has "more yesterdays than tomorrows."
Thanks for stopping by my blog - I'll be back to visit soon!
Nancy
You're SO welcome, Carol.
I have tears in my eyes. What a beautiful post. God's fingerprints are definitely on everything....especially the beauty and wonder of a little child.
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