And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male & female He created them. And God blessed them; & God said to them, “Be fruitful & multiply, & fill the earth, & subdue it … (Gen. 1.27-28)
And God blessed Noah & his sons & said to them, “Be fruitful & multiply, & fill the earth … And as for you, be fruitful & multiply; Populate the earth abundantly & multiply in it.” (Gen. 9.1, 7)
Known as the Creation mandate given by God to humankind, this forms the precursor to the threefold Abrahamic covenant of land, seed, & blessing.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing … And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12.1-3)
I met & got to know my wife (eventually date, court & marry) through short-term missions, sensing God’s call towards full-time mission work. We named our firstborn a variation of John (from Greek, euangelion – evangelism, messenger of good news).
Yet when we got pregnant the 2nd time, we were still not prepared for the news from our gynae – you’re expecting triplets. That began a whole new chapter in our family life & experience.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, our trio turned 10. Has it really been a decade since God blessed us with their arrival? Here are some reflections of being a parent/father to preemie triplets, & now to 1 teen + 3 tweens.
- I wish we had started/tried earlier; first child arrived in the 4th year of our marriage. Trio when I was 39… so when my youngest boy finishes military service & starts university, I will be 60 & still needing to work to pay off uni fees for 3
- every day of life is a precious gift of God (after they were born premature at 32 weeks & spent 6 tumultuous weeks in newborn/neonatal ICU)
- balancing spending time with each of our 4 children, especially our eldest who often gets less attention as we expect him to be independent, & we often have spend more energy on the younger trio
- each child is unique, with unique personality, preferences (food, likes/dislikes), hobbies, gifts, etc
- still struggling but the need to prioritize our husband-wife relationship (almost impossible, but occasional date-nights or weekday lunches, when the kids are at school)
- remembering to pray for each of them, especially for their salvation, Christian faith & experience, & encouraging them in spiritual things, not just on academics
- time vs money, presence vs presents, best vs good enough, discipline/sacrifice vs entitlement, generosity vs self-centredness…
We are still a work in progress, learning every step of the way. Thankfully we are not alone, the Lord guides us & journeys with us. My continued prayer is that our family (& marriage) will shine His light & reflect His love to each other & those around us, & that His presence & peace will surround us as we choose to follow & serve Him. As God blesses us & we seek to bless us, may God’s blessings be multiplied manifold for His kingdom glory!
Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them … (Psalm 127.3-5)
