The HIghest Calling

There is no calling in the world that carries the import or the gravity of parenthood. Having been a minister by occupation for all of my professional career, the ministry of parenthood is my first priority, my greatest joy, and I pray will be the most fruitful investment of a lifetime of ministry.

We now have 4 boys. Nash Donovan Trumbo was born on 2/11. The Trumbo family has a long history of male progeny,* so even though we didn’t find out beforehand, we had a real good suspicion that it was going to be another boy. And now that he is here, we know the Lord’s calling on our lives for certain. It would not be out of context to here cite, “to whom much is given, much is required.”**

People think they are being original and creative when they say, “there are enough boys in your family for basketball team.” The even more cheeky ones will tell us that we are well on our way to fielding a soccer team. And then of course there is the daily encouragement we receive from strangers, “you need to keep trying until you have that little princess.” No thanks.*** I feel great about our current situation. Our 9 year old is not just a helpful big brother - he has made it his mission in life to be the world’s greatest big brother. And our 6 year old follows his lead. We have the bigs (9 and almost 7) and the littles (2 and 0), who will surely become partners in crime in the not-too-distant future. Having a houseful of boys lends itself to many positives and negatives - lots of balls, lots of broken stuff, legos and star wars everywhere, and the farts are as ubiquitous as the pee on the toilet seat. I grew up in a family of 3 boys. We even had a male dog. The testosterone flowed from the faucets. My Mom is in the antique business, and she used to make and sell dried flower arrangements. A batted nerf ball can do bad things to antiques, and a dried flower arrangement stands no chance against a kicked beach ball. As my mother, bruised and battered from a lifetime of raising boys, left the delivery room last Monday for the last time before the baby was born she said somewhat prophetically, “You know, the only thing better than three boys...is four boys.” Being married to me for 12 years has prepared Chyloe for the skullduggery and irreverence that will follow.****

We will probably never field a basketball team of Trumbo men. Though my middle school skills were not half bad, I am 5’ 9” and Chyloe is 5’ 2”. I would even venture to say that my boys will probably never be world class athletes. Our boys may never be in the honors program at school. Sure, I would love for my child to get free college for their athletic skills or for their grades, but that is not the Lord’s calling on us as parents. In fact, I would even say it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t go to college. I want them to love Jesus. I want them to care for people. I want them to fight for justice. I want them to be selfless. I want that fruit of the Spirit which is kindness to emanate from their pores. Our calling is certain - to raise 4 men to love Jesus and to serve as he did. If in the process they become Olympians, or violin virtuosos, or Rhodes scholars then great. But never will I encourage any of those pursuits above the pursuit of Christ.

I told Chyloe shortly after Nash was born that she was put on this earth to be the mother of 4 boys.***** The joy and the weight of this purpose has been substantial. I can only imagine the victories and the heartaches that await. I have to trust that God gave us this responsibility because somehow he knew we could not only persevere, but flourish in it.


* When my first nephew was born he was number 13 in a row. At the time the only living female born a Trumbo was 85 years old, never married, never had any kids. They tell us that she was the first female Trumbo born in 100 years. The streak was then broken by my older brother who now has 2 boys 2 girls, my younger brother has 1 girl 0 boys, so we knew that to have a girl was not impossible but also not very likely.
**Luke 12:48
***While we believe children are a blessing and our most vital ministry, our plan is not to have any more.
****It’s not all irreverence and skullduggery. The boys love watching the runway portion of Project Runway, they thoroughly enjoy Disney princess and fairy movies, and they always make it a point to hand-make cards for their mother for special occasions.
*****The spiritual meaning is this is her purpose in life, the practical meaning of having 4 boys is that she doesn’t have to share the love - more shoes for her!