My Precious Son

You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you...Isaiah 43:4

From the very beginning, from before he could speak, I called Coulter “my precious boy.”

When he was little, and I would put him to bed, I would say, “Good night my precious boy” and he would say, “Good night my precious daddy.” And when he would wake up in the morning, I would greet him with “Good morning, my precious boy,” and he would respond again in kind with “Good morning, my precious daddy.”

I continued this tradition until he began to grow beyond boyhood. I wanted him to know that I saw that growth and progression in him. So, one evening, as everyone was headed off to bed, I sat down with him and let him know that I saw that he was growing beyond boyhood, so from then on I would call him “My precious son” because no matter how big or how old he got, that is what he would always be to me.

I also told him that “precious” can sound weak or have a fragile connotation, like those little porcelain figurines. But that is not how I meant it and that is not how I saw him. The way that I meant it was that he was rare and of great value, like a precious stone. And some of the most valuable stones, like diamonds, are also some of the strongest substances known, able to cut glass, polish stone, and sharpen steel. He told me he understood.

Coulter was precious.

He wasn't precious because I called him that, or because he was strong, courageous, adventurous, intelligent, or because of any of the wonderful qualities that made him who he was.

He was precious because his Heavenly Father created him in His own image and gave him value that no accomplishment could increase and no failure could take away.

I didn't make Coulter precious. I simply recognized the value his Heavenly Father had already given him.

And the same is true of you.

You were created in the image of God. Your value is not determined by what you accomplish, what you possess, how strong you are, or what others think of you. Nor is it diminished by your struggles, your failures, or the burdens you carry.

And through Jesus Christ, your Father invites you into something even more extraordinary: to become His child, to belong to Him, and to know the love of a Father who calls His people precious, honored, and loved.

You Are Loved More Than You Know.

 #coulterslight #suicideprevention #suicideawareness