August 16
5As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things. (Ecclesiastes 11:5)
Happy, Blessed Tuesday family. I hope y’all spent some time yesterday and appreciated all the intricate, marvelous details of the world God has created for us to live and thrive in. And I hope you always keep in mind that God’s most precious and prized creation is you and me. The Creator of Life, the Master Engineer of the Entire Universe, the One who spoke the winds into existence, who shaped the lion and the bumblebee, of all that God created, His most beloved work of art are all His beautiful children. I have a special song for celebrating that thought at the end of this post, but until then, let’s get back to the little details of this amazing world and life.
This week is going to be geared for us parents, but it is not limited to those of us who have our own children. The ideas I present to y’all can be relevant if you are an amazing, involved Uncle/Aunt, Godfather/Godmother, mentor, or anyone around young children. Anyone who invests in time with the youth of this world will hopefully appreciate these next few days on this blog. But, as we welcome in our third child, this week will resonate strongest with you parents, who have had those first precious moments of life with the birth of your children. Of course, the moments that we have with our newborns are so fleeting. They slip by in the blink of an eye.
I literally took a step away from this computer to check on SGZIII as she was cooing in her sleep. As I stood above her, looking at all the perfect little details of her design: from her teeny, tiny ears, to her little button-nose; she crunched up her sweet feet and released the loudest, second-long toot that would have sent our five-year-old son running away in sheer enjoyment and pride.
I only mention that because it made me laugh. Kids hopefully make you laugh. They restore my soul in this broken world. What I wanted to write about today was the paradox of time.
During our first 48 with our new baby, Mrs. Z and I were counting down the moments to when we were finally cleared to leave the hospital. We wanted to get back to the comforts of our home, but most importantly, we wanted our family, our whole family, together for the first time. As a parent, we only have one shot at this. There is only one first time we hold our newborn. There is only one first sneeze, one first burp, smile, laugh. So many joyful “first” moments. There are many first time scares as well. The first time they get sick. The first time they get hurt. The first time their heart is broken. As much as Mrs. Z wanted to rush to that moment when we were released from the hospital, I caught myself wanting time to just stop. Those first forty-eight hours, as long as they were, they slipped from our hands like grains of sand. And I found myself fighting desperately to hold onto those details. The smell of SGZIII’s little scalp. The innocence of her sweet cries. The beauty of Mrs. Z nursing her daughter, of them falling asleep together, of the moments I would wake up with the nurse entering the room. SGZIII had to be put under blue UV phototherapy because her bilirubin was too high. I did not handle that well. I wish no child was ever born with a birth defect. For those precious souls, the only words of encouragement I can offer those frustrated parents is this: your child was made perfect. While they may be housed in a broken body on Earth, they will be made whole in Heaven. That is the hope of our salvation. That is the hope I cling to. The hope of being made whole in eternity. The moments of this life are built on sifting sand. We can find the ground breaking away under our feet at any moment. So make sure you are building your life on the solid rock of Jesus, that eternal rock, that righteous rock of salvation. We can not stop time here on Earth, but we can live a life that opens the door to an eternal reward, in a City on the Hill, where time will never end, where we will be with our loved ones until the end of time.
Assuming our loved ones get there. That’s a lesson for another week. But for this week, as I focus on the lessons a newborn can teach the world, I hope I have painted a clear picture of my second point: take time to take time. Be mindful of the moments when you are living them. Manage your time as efficiently as possible, but invest as much of it as you can in your children. Do not miss those special firsts with your face in a phone, or glued to a television screen. Give your attention to the greatest gift God has ever given the world: the children. So pay attention to the details, and soak in every moment. God made something special when He sculpted you, and me. It is quite a beautiful tapestry of grace, majesty, and wonder when He created this great big world, and the whole time, it was with me, on His mind.
Common Sense Reborn 