You are only 4 1/2 months old, but I hope one day when you are older, you will read this letter. I love you very much, more than I can articulate. I have so many dreams and wishes for you and for your future. But the one thing I wish and pray the most for you is that you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Zander, I want you to know the best decision I ever made in my life was to ask Jesus into my heart and life and have a relationship with him. And I want that for you. Your dad and I pray for you every night. We pray for your health, your wealth, and your happiness. (Okay, not the wealth part, we don't pray for that, even though it would be nice.) But every night we pray that you would one day come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. I asked Jesus into my heart at a very young age. I was only 4 or 5 years old. And never once have I regretted that decision. Life is hard. And even if you are a Christian, it is still hard. But I cannot imagine what life would be like if I did not have Christ in my life.
Zander, I hug and kiss you every day. You are a gift from God. God has blessed your daddy and I so much. God has just lent you to us. I cherish every minute of every day that I am with you. Even when I have to go to work, I want to be at home with you. When I am at work I talk to you on the phone. And at 4 1/2 months old you know your mommy's voice. You smile when I talk to you on the phone. Daddy puts me on speaker and he puts the phone close to your ear, and even if you are fussy, you calm down when you hear your mommy's voice. I love you Zander and I always will.
I think about the first time you will crawl, walk, and then run. I think about the first day you will go to school. I think about birthdays, graduations, colleges, and one day your wedding. I don't care what career you choose. I don't care if you love baseball or hate it. I don't care if you decide to be a NASCAR driver like your daddy wants you to be. What I care about is that you become a Christian and you love the Lord. Zander, I want God to be most important in your life. Because that is what matters in life. Don't get me wrong, I care about those other things, but they don't matter as much as having God in your life does. I want you to be happy. So, if you want to be a race car driver one day, I will support that. I may worry and pray a lot about you so you won't get hurt, but I will support and encourage that, if that is what you want. I want you to choose a career that makes you happy, and not to base it on what anyone else wants for you. I know I am thinking about your life a long time from now, but I do want you to love God and to know that He loves you very much. He loves you more than I can ever love you. He loved you so much that He sent his son to die for you, and for all of the world. I hope one day, you will love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul. I have 2 favorite verses I want to share with you and they are Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13. These verses have been my life verses. These two verses have gotten me through a lot of hard times. Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You see Zander, God has plans for you. He knows all those plans already. We don't, but He does. He has plans to give you hope and a future. And so I put my precious little boy, Zander, in God's hands. I can trust Him. He loves you and I know He will take good care of you. My second favorite verse (well it is tied for first) is Philippians 4:13. Philippians 4:13 says, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. God is the one who gives you strength. You can accomplish anything you want to in life because God will give you the strength to do it. You just have to go to Him. You need to pray to Him, read the bible, and have a relationship with Him. Just like you will have a relationship with your many friends (and I hope you have a lot). God loves you and He wants you to come to Him. I can't wait until that day when you ask God into your heart. And God can't wait either. He loves and longs to have a relationship with us. So, I know this is way over your adorable 4 1/2 month old head, but I hope one day you will appreciate it.
Now, I know your mommy can be long winded at times, but I want to talk to you about one more thing. I want to talk about family. My family means so much to me and is so important to me. I hope and pray that our family will mean a lot to you as you grow up. I love all my brothers and sisters and my mom and dad very much. They have helped shape me into the person I am today. And I am so glad God put me in the Wiersema family. I also love all of my extended family. I love my cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts, nieces, nephews, grandmas, and grandpas. God had blessed me with such a great family. Our family is just starting out. You are our first born. But as our family gets bigger I hope you will come to love your siblings, your aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and cousins. You already do love your grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And they love you very much. Zander, I hope you will always realize the importance of family and never take them for granted. For now, I will end this letter. I am sure I will write more letters to you. I want you to know that I love you very much. More than you may know. But, God, He loves you way more than I do. Zander, I am so glad your mine. And in the words of your Auntie Abby, I love your guts. I love you, my precious boy. I love you my baby doll (as I call you sometimes, even though daddy is not too fond of it).
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be
I hope you never forget how much I love you and how much God loves you!
Love,
Mommy
Mommy
Zander praying
