The Zebra

Today is Piper's first birthday, although we're celebrating it tomorrow with our friends and family. Over the past few months, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I want most for Piper, what I need to pray most for her.

For Tyler's first birthday, we got him a Rhino and a globe as a symbol of our prayers for him. To explain briefly, the rhino represents "blind faith." Rhinos have very limited eyesight; they can only see up to 30 feet before themselves. Being the large animals they are, it is difficult for them to stop quickly considering they are capable of running up to 30 miles per hour. Rhinos run even though they may not be able to stop before hitting something in front of them. If a rhino lived in fear of not being able to see where he was going, he would never go anywhere. We pray that Tyler, and all of our children, will run in the direction of their God-given dreams even when the details are unclear. Faith runs forward.

The Globe is a symbol of Global Vision - that Tyler (and all of our children) will see and learn about the world beyond our own neighborhood and know that there are no limits to where he can go.

Now for Piper, I wanted to come up with a symbol equally as meaningful and creative as the Rhino and Globe we gave to Tyler. After much thought and research, I found that the zebra was a perfect symbol of our prayers for Piper. Here is what I've written for my precious Piper on her first birthday.

The Zebra

Unique Beauty – A zebra’s stripes are like a human’s fingerprint. No two zebras wear the same coat. Zoologists who study zebras identify them and tell them apart by their unique markings. We pray that you, Piper, will embrace your individuality and uniqueness as a child of Christ, that you will never be ashamed of who you are, and that you will proudly, yet humbly acknowledge that God has fearfully and wonderfully made you. We also pray that you will make your own “fingerprint” on this world, that you will change lives and lead others to Christ.

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:14

The zebra’s stripes are also a natural sunscreen that allows zebras to withstand intense solar radiation. We pray that your upbringing in Christ and all of the qualities He’s given you—qualities that make you Piper—would be your “natural sunscreen” against the evil in this world. Your uniqueness will protect you from worldly danger.

A zebra’s stripes not only protect the animal from the sun, but they also help keep predators at a distance. The stripes on a zebra’s body serve as a form of camouflage called “disruptive coloration.” At dusk and nightfall when predators hunt, the stripes distort the zebra’s true distance and disorient predators. Even insects are disoriented by the stripes and stay away from the animal’s coat. Although a zebra’s distinctive coloring seems like it would attract attention, it does the opposite as it protects the animal from its enemies. Amazing! We pray that your individual beauty and uniqueness in Christ will protect you from those who seek to hurt you.

The zebra we are giving you on your first birthday is simply a symbol of our life-long prayers for you. We love you, thank God for you, and pray for His blessing upon you.