This New Life

The house is getting flooded already with crafts and decorations for my grandson’s baby shower, which isn’t happening until mid-October. Nevertheless, all the activity serves to heighten the anticipation of Samuel’s safe arrival in December, Lord willing.

They’re planning a nautical-themed shower, so piles of “Ahoy! It’s a Boy!” things are stacking up everywhere. Not only that, all my media feeds are filling up with baby ads. I tend to be a soft-touch, so I’m trying to resist being dazzled by all the cute things I could buy for him. Pray for my self-control. 🙂

My prayer is that Christ will be at the helm of Samuel’s life, and the Holy Spirit will help him navigate the turbulent waters of this world in due course. Even now, the Lord is at work. As King David wrote:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Parental (and grandparental) love predates a birth, just like God’s love for us (Jeremiah 31:3). Moreover, it’s conferred independently of the child’s status, health, or future performance. It just is. “Love is as strong as death,” said Solomon, “its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame” (Song of Solomon 8:6).

BBC News published a story two years ago titled “Babies Born at 22 Weeks Can Now Survive.” That’s a relief since my grandson is now 22 week in utero. Still, such a delivery 18 weeks early would be risky. Not impossible, just precarious. But even there, “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). God has a good track record making and preserving his miracle babies. May it be so here, too.

We can’t wait to meet you in person, dear one.