Lessons from a Stubby Nose

When Arrow #1 was born after that loooong difficult labour, my first reaction was "YES! A son!" which is what the Lord had promised me even before I got married!

My second reaction was, "He hasn't got a nose!"

Being Asian, the bridge of his nose was one part I wanted to examine. While in utero, I had specifically prayed for him to have certain features - dimple (he has one), curly hair (yes he does), look like his Dad (a longer taller version) and so forth.

Then I was reminded of a casual remark that my own mother made when I was still very young. She turned to me one day, out of the blue, and offered me to have eye surgery so that I would have double eyelids - much sought after by Chinese. I recall declining, but the shock of that stayed with me. I didn't know she had been observing me and I felt I was found wanting. I felt I didn't look nice because I didn't have double eyelids.

Many years later, the Lord healed me of this. Ironically, as I age, I now DO have double eyelids - the skin sagging I guess!

But back to my newborn son.

As that memory came, I knew it was God telling me that my son was fearfully and wonderfully made, and that I should accept him as he was. Regardless of his nose!

So I put my finger gently onto his non-existing bridge and whispered to him, "You are my son, in whom I am well pleased."

Proverbs 18:21 tell us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Those who love death, speak death, and will reap death. By choosing to speak life, I loved life, and saw life in my son.

Months later I realised that the bridge hadn't shown itself yet at birth. Now, he has quite an aquiline nose really!