To the great, great grandchildren...

of Ephraim Magnus.
Maybe a hundred years from now - one of you will stumble upon this - & in your memory the name Ephraim Magnus will conjure up the image of an old man... i imagine his name will make you smile & tell the stories of how he loved his wife, bounced babes on his knee - & talked well of his mama... *smile*. Am i right?
But right now... that old man is my son... & i am his mama... & i delight in the rolls on his baby thighs & his baby crows & coos as his eyes flutter & fall & he drifts off into sleep.
i want to tell you something that may not have occurred to you.
But it occurs to me as i muse on the significance of my little one - & the possibilities for his life... his family, his lineage, his influence...

You were a long shot.

Descendants of my wee babe, he was a ninth pregnancy, a seventh child - a third son - for my husband and i...
Our little Ephraim was a surprise -
a tiny blessing in baby flesh - given to us by the grace of God - who sees the impact of this gift... not just in our lives - in this generation - in this noisy household - to this grateful mama...
But our Loving Father sees the impact that this generational line will have a decade from now - a century from now - a millennium from now - as the 7 shoots that God blessed us with grow and flourish...
and wither and die -
& their offspring in their season & time come to blossom and bloom too...
i guess in short...
i believe that God had *you* in mind when he blessed me with my little son.
o, i have no doubt that He has a work in mind for you all to accomplish with what strength & talents he bestowed upon you...

Oh, Father - it's as though for a moment - i can see much farther than my dim earth bound eyes should... light years ahead - through generations that will worship You & serve You.
Take these little ones, Father - & bless the tiny buds that might never have been - that will be fruitful followers of the One i love.

i can't wait to learn of the impact of our little surprise - our much loved babe...
your great, great grandfather,
Ephraim Magnus.