Valentine's Day Dedication: Jamin

This is Jamin, my prince. When he was born, he actually had hair and so tiny, but cute, so I called him "handsome". Along the way, he gained "Handsome Prince." He's very clean. If he gets one wet spot, he'll change to a new outfit. When I do his laundry, I usually do it in two or three loads because he throws everything together; dirty and clean clothes. Yes, I'm trying to teach him to put clothes, that he has taken out but decided not to wear, back in their rightful places. He has not gotten it right yet, but he's working on it.

The other day, he was washing dishes, part of his chores. He got a little wet, looked down on his shirt and looked at me, then he said with a smile, "I got a little wet, what shall I do?" I knew he was feeling uncomfortable, but instead of telling him he could change, I told him it would dry later on. He looked at me like I was a mad woman and said, "uh". Then walked away.

When I asked him what this means. He said, "X-out of this house." I'm not sure about this boy, but he sure knows a lot of moves I don't have a clue about.

One of the moves he made was when he was in 4-year kindergarten. Towards the middle of the school year, I noticed that he was saying the "f" word a lot. I asked him who taught him that, he said, "myself." I kept on telling him and asking him to stop using the word, but he couldn't. I washed his mouth with detergent soap (of course, I used a clean sponge). Then, when visitation day came, his teacher came over to our house and I shared with her. She said he may have picked it up from his classmate who exploded in the middle of lunch-time. Thank goodness, it was just a phase.

This is a shirt he will not let me get rid of. He can barely put it on his head, it is so small, it will probably fit his little sister. But he sure loves it a lot.

Jamin has a special talent: he loves to tell stories and act them out. He's very active and can hardly sit still. He's always doing something. Last October, his cousins came over to spend a week with us and we had devotion and prayer for one of the night, but there were eight kids, so he was getting restless. He got up and started to do his Power Ranger moves. I thought he was not listening, but each time I asked questions related to the passages we read, he gave the answers correctly. We were all amazed how well he was listening while those who were sitting still couldn't answer the questions.

Jamin is special to us: he was our last child (as we planned anyway). So, we wanted him to bare an unusual name out of the Bible. Every name that we've planned to name him had been given to my husband's relatives. So, we chose Jamin. It was short, cute and meaningful. Jamin is the son of Simeon and through him the Jaminite clan was formed. Jamin, a different one was one of the first Israelite to return to Jerusalem after their captivity by Babylon. And, I had just recently learned from one of the Bible Students at Columbia International University that his name means, "right hand man". Isn't that something? He is an awesome kid.

Several months ago, he saw me copying some Bible verses down and he said, "mom, you're not supposed to copy books."

I was taken by his seriousness, so I asked, "Why not?"

"Because, God wouldn't like that," he said.

"Actually, God loves it when we spend time reading and writing His words down, because that shows that we listen to Him."

"Uh. Can I do that, too?" he asked.

"Yes, what story would you like to read first?"

"Daniel and the lion," he replied.

And for the next several weeks we spend time going from one story to another. But, it was music to my ears to know that he loves to read the Bible.

Well, here are my prince and princess. Sleepy heads-long trip. Just like all siblings, they fight and play together, and when they are tired, they learn to lean on one another for support. If only we can be as forgiving as they are: Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). Children don't hold grudges the way we do. They don't remind us everyday of the things we do wrong. Instead, they show us love, bring us flowers, give us hugs, and thank us for loving them back. That's why we should imitate our children's actions and behaviors when it comes to learning and accepting the Word of God.

Jamin has demonstrated countless times of love and forgiveness for me. He's joyful and kind, thoughful and compassionate. That's why he's my Valentine.