Simon

We prayed for the child who would become our son Simon for 4 years. Naming a child so long awaited was different than naming a biological child we knew would arrive in a few months.  Simon’s name was chosen 2 years prior in the midst of our wait to adopt. Late one evening in June 2015 we finally got the call that we had been matched with a 3 month old baby boy born in Hawaii. Brad and I quickly agreed to give our new son the name we had already chosen: Simon Levi. I stayed up all night making travel arrangements and lists of needed baby items. While taking a break to soak in what was happening, I decided to recheck what the name we had chosen meant.  I got chills when I saw that Simon means “hear” and Levi means “joined/attached.”  When we agreed to present our profile to Simon’s birth mom, we were informed that Simon had been born with mild to moderate hearing loss. His was the first (and only) time that we pursued a child with known special needs. His first name, chosen before he was even conceived, referred to his specific special need, while his middle name indicated he would be joined with our family through adoption. Levi was also another name for the apostle Matthew, a name that means “gift of God.”

Like most parents of a child born with hearing loss, we were naive about what all was involved. I am so grateful that when we were making the decision to present our profile for him, we saw the big picture: his hearing loss is not something that will limit him unless he chooses to allow it. But the reality is, we didn’t know what we were getting into, which was SUCH a blessing because we could have missed out on our son!

Simon does hear, just not well enough. We mistakenly assumed we would simply get him hearing aids, and they would compensate for any deficits. We did not anticipate the difficulties Simon would have with speech. To complicate things even more, Simon has had trouble with chronic ear infections and fluid in his ears that further limited and distorted his hearing, even with hearing aids. To this point in his life, at 3 years old, Simon has likely had the equivalent of about 15 months of “normal” aided hearing, which is reflected in his speech delays.

Our son Simon was named for several Biblical figures, primarily Simon Peter. Our son is bold and exhuberant and impulsive, just as I picture Simon Peter was. My prayer for my son is that one day he will boldly proclaim the Good News to all who will listen with a voice that he fought hard to develop.
Simon is a feisty little guy, a natural comedian, and likely musician. I have never had any doubt that my son would speak. I can’t explain why except that God has given me a supernatural peace about it. When I found Isaiah 30:21, I knew it was perfect for Simon:

Watch out world, because God has big things in store for Simon!