In two weeks, my middle child Eli will be heading off to college. He’s excited about the prospect of stepping out of the nest and spreading his wings, but I am not.
If you’ve read my post about how my first child came to be, then you know that I struggled with infertility for years. Without a doubt, God gave me that child. I received confirmation of it through a prophecy and a pastor’s dream!
I had such high hopes of having a big family, especially one in the children got along with each other! I “interviewed” families through the years, observing how well their children got along and asking about the number of years between them. I had determined that kiddos who were about two years apart seemed to be the best of friends. If they were three years or more apart, they seemed to struggle with each other. It was a very informal survey, I assure you, but it meant a lot to me!
One night, as I was rocking a sleepy, but resisting-sleep-Nate, I began to think about his age and how soon I’d need to get pregnant to have a child in that sweet spot of time for sibling harmony. I knew I couldn’t make it happen without divine intervention, so I put Nate to bed (finally) and got down on my knees by the rocking chair. I explained the situation with all my desires to the Lord. Then I made a commitment to Him with my whole heart that I would accept whatever plan He chose for me—to have a baby who was two years younger than Nate, or not.
I found out the news that I was pregnant a few months later. Eli’s due date was exactly one week before Nate’s second birthday. No one could ever convince me that Eli is not an answer to prayer.
Eli came six weeks earlier than his due date. He was a precious, tiny baby boy, who refused to wake up and eat; he spent 10 days in the NICU until he figured out that he wasn’t in the womb any longer. (He is still hard headed!)
He and Nate had an amazing relationship from the start. Baby food that he wouldn’t take from me, he gladly accepted when Nate offered it to him.
Instead of speaking English, Eli chose to grunt and communicate with his eyes for the first two years of his life. Nate was his interpreter.
The two shared a bedroom for years, and hubby and I would frequently holler out, “Go to bed, you two!” because they would giggle and talk long after we put them to bed. Then to the back of the van, we’d have to raise our voices and say, “Can y’all keep it down, boys? We can’t even have a conversation up here in front. Didn’t y’all talk and giggle all night last night?” They never seem to run out of things to talk about.
They were teammates in Bible Quizzing. Some years, Nate was the gung-ho quizzer. Other years, Eli would say to Nate, “I’m tired of carrying this team. Get your act together, Nate!” Those were the years in which Nate would say, “I forget that I’m older than Eli.”
People assumed they were twins though they don’t really look much alike. They were just two peas in a pod.
They went their separate ways in high school, attending different schools for various reasons, and now they are going to separate colleges. They’re still great friends, but it’s not quite like it was before high school. Oh, how I miss those days!
I pray that wherever the Lord leads them that they will always know that “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17, KJV). Amen.
