To My Son
To those who requested it: herein lieth the letter I wrote at age 15 and 9 months to an imaginary future son.
March 4th, 2008
To my dear eldest son, Scott David,
Your mother is only fifteen, nearly sixteen as she writes this letter to you. I am foolish, and don't know much, but I thought I should like to write a letter to the boy who, perhaps, will one day be my son. Maybe you will come to me through adoption, maybe through the sweet-bitter joy of giving birth, and maybe you will always stay - a child of my imagination.
I wonder what it will be like to look down on a tiny baby face, or perhaps that of a young boy, and say, "My son!" My heat seems to thrill as it whispers the words.
I wonder what you will look like. Will you have golden hair, black hair, brown hair or my red hair? Perhaps it will be as vivid as mine. Will your eyes be blue, grey, green, brown, hazel or a mix of two or several?
Still, that will not matter as long as you are strong and healthy and what God wants me to have. And even if you are not, God will probably want to test both of our loyalties to Him by our faithfulness in difficult times. Remember James 1:2-6: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
I know it is hard to trust the Lord; we are so apt to try and do things in our own strength. Even when we promise the Lord we will trust Him, we still find ourselves wondering if He can do it; still find that anxiety running through our frail frames.
Only once did I manage to trust Him completely, by His grace, and it was amazing how the care was lifted off my shoulders and I went to sleep peacefully trusting in Him. I can see the sense of that hymn now; Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. It is so true.
I hope you are a Christian, my son. I will try to train you in the Lord's ways, but remember that they are past finding out, and I, too, am prone to err. When you are older, it would be so good to have a fellow Christian companionship, but as you are still young, I must learn to curb my own sharp temper and put up with - and teach you to control - your mischievous ways.
You will want to know, as many children, as even I myself wondered once, why I gave you the name you bear. Scott David. Did you ever hear your grandfather mention Thunderbirds? It is a children's video (TV programme) that I enjoy very much. The (characters and) setting is a man, Jeff Tracy, and his five sons - Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. They run International Rescue, a private and highly-advanced emergency response organisation, which covers the globe and even reaches into space, rescuing people with their futuristic vehicles, the Thunderbirds.
In a time where most films are rubbish, and our society produces weak, womanly and indecent creatures which are given the name of "men", I had begun to doubt that any man could still exist. These puppet men refreshed me, showing that there were some left with the ideals in men that I cherish.
I named you, my son, after the character that, out of them all, I think I most admire; that of Scott Tracy. He is quiet and unassuming, yet can take control and make quick decisions when necessary. He is dependable and trustworthy, and appears to have high ideals. This is part of, to me, what makes a man.
But I would not have you follow a puppet, my dear Scott. No, because even something I have found with high ideals has its errors too. His language is not always that of the best, for instance. No, don't follow a puppet, but follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One Who will never give up on you, never let you down. He is the only One Who is perfect. Follow Him; walk closely in His footsteps. You will never succeed in becoming perfect; no human could do that without being Christ, and that is impossible. But try to imitate Him as much as possible, and I have a fair hope that you will succeed in fulfilling my ideal of a man.
There is so much to learn, and little that I know how to teach you. I am not a man, and I cannot teach you as a man could. I only hope that the Lord can direct us both, and bring you, through the blood of Christ, though the thorny path of life and keep you ever close to His side. Remember that He can, He will, He does forgive, though we fail Him often.
I should just like to include a poem which describes what should be some of the main goals of a true man. I do not agree with the author, Rudyard Kipling, on many things, but with his ideal of a man I can almost fully agree.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating;
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet both Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools.
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so HOLD ON when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them - Hold On!
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch.
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the earth - and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a MAN, my son!
Can you live up to that, Scott? I hope you will try. For in an age where Christian girls are wavering in their effort to keep pure, because they see no real men around them that are thankful for their efforts, it would be wonderful to see a true Christian man that appreciates them for attempting to keep the world from being more defiled than it is now. God bless you, my Scott. Live up to the name I chose for you. Perhaps - I shall write again, and tell you of the necessity to keep yourself pure in this day and age, and the reason why I chose your second name. For now, I will leave you with this to dwell on.
With much love,
Your Mother
xxx
March 4th, 2008
To my dear eldest son, Scott David,
Your mother is only fifteen, nearly sixteen as she writes this letter to you. I am foolish, and don't know much, but I thought I should like to write a letter to the boy who, perhaps, will one day be my son. Maybe you will come to me through adoption, maybe through the sweet-bitter joy of giving birth, and maybe you will always stay - a child of my imagination.
I wonder what it will be like to look down on a tiny baby face, or perhaps that of a young boy, and say, "My son!" My heat seems to thrill as it whispers the words.
I wonder what you will look like. Will you have golden hair, black hair, brown hair or my red hair? Perhaps it will be as vivid as mine. Will your eyes be blue, grey, green, brown, hazel or a mix of two or several?
Still, that will not matter as long as you are strong and healthy and what God wants me to have. And even if you are not, God will probably want to test both of our loyalties to Him by our faithfulness in difficult times. Remember James 1:2-6: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."
I know it is hard to trust the Lord; we are so apt to try and do things in our own strength. Even when we promise the Lord we will trust Him, we still find ourselves wondering if He can do it; still find that anxiety running through our frail frames.
Only once did I manage to trust Him completely, by His grace, and it was amazing how the care was lifted off my shoulders and I went to sleep peacefully trusting in Him. I can see the sense of that hymn now; Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. It is so true.
I hope you are a Christian, my son. I will try to train you in the Lord's ways, but remember that they are past finding out, and I, too, am prone to err. When you are older, it would be so good to have a fellow Christian companionship, but as you are still young, I must learn to curb my own sharp temper and put up with - and teach you to control - your mischievous ways.
You will want to know, as many children, as even I myself wondered once, why I gave you the name you bear. Scott David. Did you ever hear your grandfather mention Thunderbirds? It is a children's video (TV programme) that I enjoy very much. The (characters and) setting is a man, Jeff Tracy, and his five sons - Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. They run International Rescue, a private and highly-advanced emergency response organisation, which covers the globe and even reaches into space, rescuing people with their futuristic vehicles, the Thunderbirds.
In a time where most films are rubbish, and our society produces weak, womanly and indecent creatures which are given the name of "men", I had begun to doubt that any man could still exist. These puppet men refreshed me, showing that there were some left with the ideals in men that I cherish.
I named you, my son, after the character that, out of them all, I think I most admire; that of Scott Tracy. He is quiet and unassuming, yet can take control and make quick decisions when necessary. He is dependable and trustworthy, and appears to have high ideals. This is part of, to me, what makes a man.
But I would not have you follow a puppet, my dear Scott. No, because even something I have found with high ideals has its errors too. His language is not always that of the best, for instance. No, don't follow a puppet, but follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One Who will never give up on you, never let you down. He is the only One Who is perfect. Follow Him; walk closely in His footsteps. You will never succeed in becoming perfect; no human could do that without being Christ, and that is impossible. But try to imitate Him as much as possible, and I have a fair hope that you will succeed in fulfilling my ideal of a man.
There is so much to learn, and little that I know how to teach you. I am not a man, and I cannot teach you as a man could. I only hope that the Lord can direct us both, and bring you, through the blood of Christ, though the thorny path of life and keep you ever close to His side. Remember that He can, He will, He does forgive, though we fail Him often.
I should just like to include a poem which describes what should be some of the main goals of a true man. I do not agree with the author, Rudyard Kipling, on many things, but with his ideal of a man I can almost fully agree.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating;
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet both Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools.
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so HOLD ON when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them - Hold On!
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch.
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the earth - and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a MAN, my son!
Can you live up to that, Scott? I hope you will try. For in an age where Christian girls are wavering in their effort to keep pure, because they see no real men around them that are thankful for their efforts, it would be wonderful to see a true Christian man that appreciates them for attempting to keep the world from being more defiled than it is now. God bless you, my Scott. Live up to the name I chose for you. Perhaps - I shall write again, and tell you of the necessity to keep yourself pure in this day and age, and the reason why I chose your second name. For now, I will leave you with this to dwell on.
With much love,
Your Mother
xxx
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)