. . . and your sons shall come from afar . . .

I think I knew that Krispin was "the one" the first time I met him. (I've been introducing him as my "future son-in-law" for months now--and he never argued with me).

"Dapper" was the word Greg used to describe him--he was wearing a cheeky little cap, a trench coat and he carried an umbrella.

"Quirky" was how Yellie described him to me when I pressed her for details. I could tell she was more than a little bit interested by the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about Krispin.

Which was often . . .

When he finally got up the nerve to declare his feelings for her--and she reciprocated in kind--he started hanging around our house more. Except for a few snarly encounters with Scout, Krispin seemed the perfect fit our family.

Candyce was immediately smitten by him, and Lindsay's thumb's-up quickly followed. Greg adored him--they share the same laid-back temperament and odd sense of humor.

And how do I describe my heart toward Krispin?

He is a son to me.

Many years ago, the Lord gave me a very special verse:

"Look up your eyes all around and see . . . they shall come to you. Your sons shall come from afar." Isaiah 60:4

At this particular time in my life, Greg and I were praying about letting a young man come and live with us. He'd been part of our youth group when we lived in Anchorage, but since we'd last seen him, he'd gotten mixed up with drugs and alcohol and other unsavory things. And he called and asked if he could come to California and stay with us for a while.

We had two teen-age and one junior-high age daughter at that time. Even though we loved Jamey, we wondered if we were crazy to even consider taking him in.

But as I sought the Lord for guidance, He led me to Isaiah 60:4--a verse I'd never even noticed before. Greg and I both felt this was God's Word to us and we took Jamey in--and he was indeed a son who came from afar.

And he became the first of many sons who have passed through our lives.

And so is Krispin. But he's not just passing through. He's here to stay.

In case you don't know, Krispin really comes from afar--his parents are missionaries in China and he lived there until his senior year in high school. I feel kind of bad for them--they've never even met Danielle--or any of the rest of the crazy Strannigan family. But it's a match made in heaven and I know they will love Danielle as much as we love their son.

When I told Candyce that Krispin had asked Greg's permission to ask Danielle to marry him, she laughed with delight and said, "Mom, we are the most blessed family on the planet! Now Krispin will be my brother!"

I echo her sentiment.

We are truly blessed.

We aren't losing a daughter--we are gaining a very precious son.