This evening after a short walk around the small tourist town near our hotel.. heading back to our room, a guy from China walked alongside us. He asked a rather strange question… pointing to my kids saying, ‘Are these all yours?’

In my mind I was thinking, ‘Of course, they are..’ and i was briefly tempted to make some quick joke or something. But then I replied politely, ‘Yes, they are …’ To which he replied. ‘I have a little one… 8 months old’

Then it was my turn to ask a silly question, especially since it’s posed to a Chinese, ‘Is he your only child?’ But of course, with the one-child policy in China.. could they have more?

As we parted, this man whom I’ve only just met said in mandarin… “I am so envious of you…’

In a simple encounter like that, suddenly things were put in perspective once again. How blessed Lil and I are to have Joshua, Emily & Zachary! Now all the hassles in taking care of them, dealing with tantrums and sickness, carrying strollers, baby bags & bottles and tons of kid stuff here and there suddenly don’t matter that much any more.

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands.
How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!”
Psalm 127:3-5a (NLT)