I wish I could post their picture along with
their names, but they ask us not to post them on the internet (for good reason). So I will just have to describe them the best
I can from the picture we have.
Tabitha is a translation of “Dorcas”, and means “gazelle”. She will be six soon, and has a sweet, sweet
smile, and a graceful beauty, like that of a gazelle (her name fits her), and
appears to have a quiet, gentle spirit. We pray that our Tabitha will be a disciple of Jesus Christ, “full of good
works and acts of charity”, just like her namesake, Tabitha,
found in Acts 9. Tabitha is only mentioned once in the scriptures, but what is
said about her and how she is grieved by others depicts the type of godly woman
she was:
“Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of
charity. In those days
she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was
near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him,
urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and
went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the
widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made
while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside,
and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her
eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then
calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the
Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a
tanner.” (Acts 9:36-43 ESV)
Eli is named after Elijah, which means “My God is Yahweh”. Eli will be four soon, and he has an
infectious grin and eyes that shine, and appears to have a lively, good-natured
spirit (much like our son, Colin, and I have a feeling they will get along all too
well!).
Throughout Scripture, you read many accounts
of Elijah, but in 1 Kings in particular, you see him defending the worship of
Yahweh over the worship of Baal. We pray
that our Eli will grow up to be a godly man and that he will be a defender of
his faith and his Lord, as Elijah was in 1 Kings 18:21: “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long
will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is
God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer
him a word.”
And we pray that Eli
will also exemplify the servant heart as Elijah did in 1 Kings 18:36, “And at the time of the offering of the
oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be
known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that
I have done all these things at your word.’”
Now, let me tell you a funny tidbit
about how we have been trying to explain to our three-year-old son the concept
of “brother and sister.” When he was
born, a dear friend gave him three identical monkeys (except that each was a different
color). He has LOVED these monkeys since
the first day and sleeps with them every night, and now likes to talk to them, but
we never did come up with names for them.
As we were going to bed one night, I started talking to him about Eli
and Tabitha and the idea of brother and sister, and so, we named the monkeys Colin,
Eli and Tabitha. Now he runs through the
house with them or talks to them and calls them by name, and nothing has
sounded sweeter! That is, until last night, when he saw their picture on the
refrigerator and said “Look, brother and sister!” (My heart is indeed full!!!)
As Thomas and I go through our days, we imagine what it will be like then they are here, and we can't wait to meet our Tabitha and Eli, to find out who they are, and to see all of our children playing together and loving each other.
Will you please join us in praying for them and for Colin, that they will all bond well and become true brothers and sister to one another?
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