Journey with Jesse: A Blessed Warrior

             "Let's start at the very beginning -  a very good place to start."

                          - The Sound of Music

I had always, always, ALWAYS wanted children. Almost anyone who knows me knows that I have always wanted to be a mother and that I love working with children. (By the way, I am also a teacher by trade.) 

To be honest, though, I was trying NOT to get pregnant at the time that I indeed did become pregnant with my third child, Jesse. My husband and I were in a transitional phase of life. We had recently moved, we were in the process of looking for our permanent home, we were scrimping and saving, and I had a 3 year old and a 6 month old at home. I took my birth control pill every day at the exact same time. 

As you can imagine, the news that my husband and I were expecting ANOTHER baby left us truly speechless. After our shock wore off, we laughed and admitted that God must have really wanted to bring this precious life into the world. We believe that God always has a plan, and that His plans are greater than ours. 

I had no idea how our lives would truly be changed by his precious life. However, I treasured the little baby growing inside me. All of our family did!

I remember the day that we found out his gender, and therefore his name. Our first born is a girl and our second born is a boy. I felt ready for whoever was going to join our little family. 

My husband held my son in the baby carrier while also holding my daughter's hand while we awaited the news in the doctor's office. The ultra sound technician was completing his anatomy scan. My husband joked as he said to the kids, "If it's a boy, we're going out to eat ice cream!"

"It looks like you're getting ice cream then," said the technician with a chuckle. 

A boy! Another brother who would be just 15 months apart from our other son. 

I day dreamed about my two little boys running around my home, completely in sync with their mischief and adventures....and surely giving their older sister a hard time. Of course, I knew that my independent daughter would love having two little brothers to play with and direct boss around. My vision included all the wonderful chaos of bringing up children, training them, teaching them, and enduring their childhood schemes. 

We knew that his first name would be Jesse. It was a beloved family name on my husband's side. However, it also held such strong meaning for me. The actual meaning of his name can be translated as "gift." Others translate it as "the Lord exists." The definitions alone thrilled me. However, I also thought of the history of his name. Jesse was the name of King David's father. We don't know a lot about the figure Jesse. In fact, it seems that he was an ordinary man. However, we do know that from Jesse came Israel's unexpected and greatest king. From Jesse's lineage came Jesus Christ. From Jesse came many, many blessings. I knew in my heart that my Jesse was going to show us many blessings... many unexpected blessings... throughout his life. 

Of course, I had no idea how truly unexpected his blessings would be.

We decided on "Caleb" for his middle name. To fully understand this decision, I have to explain his brother's middle name, "Joshua." Each of my child's names are inspired by Scripture and what I believe God has planned for their lives. I was inspired to read and study the book of Joshua  when I was pregnant with my second born, and I believed then (and still believe now) that he will be a warrior  for the Lord. I believe he will fight for what is right and stand courageous in his faith. I have always loved the story of how Joshua and Caleb were the only spies out of twelve who did not let fear trump their hope and faith in God and His promised land. Joshua and Caleb were great warriors for the Lord. They both were able to enter the promised land. They both fought battles resulting in victories. I knew that Jesse Caleb was going to be another warrior for the Lord. 

Of course, I had no idea how much of a great warrior he would be.