Twelve Terrific Years

On Saturday the 29th of March, we celebrated a momentous event. Matthew David Beam turned twelve years old. I realize that in a family of almost five children that may seem like no biggie, but it is. You see, David is special. Some of the people here in Charleston have only met him in the midst of his pre-teen angst period but you others know what I'm talking about. Out of all the babies I have had, when I close my eyes he is the one I can still feel in my arms. I don't mean that I love or even like him more than the others, he is just David, that is the only way to explain it. I took him to a nursing home visit when he was 11 days old. We walked into the room of a 96 year-old blind woman. She immediately reached out and asked to hold the baby in the room. I gave him to her and she knew he was a boy and asked his name. I told her and she announced to all that he would grow to preach the word of God but she would not be around to hear it. Every time a visiting pastor came to our church, they would point to him and ask who he was. They all announced that he had a special anointing over him. We used to do a hot dog give-away in an underprivileged area. David chose to go from home to home praying for the shut-ins instead of playing with the other kids. I guess I can sum all this up by telling my Lord how very thankful I am for the gift of David in my life. I love all of my children, I'm just taking the time to honor David on the anniversary of his birth.