Can there be any news more thrilling than the birth of a baby? Linnea and Adam’s son arrived safe and sound today, one week overdue but by God’s calendar exactly on time. Plump and adorable at 8 pounds 13 ounces, Micah Nathan came rushing into the world after a short labor without drugs or complications.
When Linnea’s call came through, I was transferring groceries from my cart to the car, on a 24 degree day, and when she told me they’d chosen Nate’s name as part of Micah’s, I broke down and cried. I don’t even know why. The elderly gentleman getting into the car next to mine became alarmed and came over to help me with my cart. But he needn’t have worried. My tears were of joy!
The name Nathan means “God has given,” and oh how true that is with this little boy. The interesting part is that God first gave this surprising pregnancy, than took Nate away, then gave little Nathan. Our Lord is on the move, and we are following him, doing our best to keep up!
This side of heaven, Micah will not meet the grandpa who shares his name, but we’ll have a good time telling him stories that will allow the two of them to meet in memories. I grew up knowing only one out of four grandparents. Micah will have the blessing of knowing three out of four, all of whom have prayed for him and loved him thoroughly from well before today’s earthly debut.
Every new baby is a gift from God. I believe becoming pregnant is a miracle each and every time. God created the first human being, a man with the same name as our son-in-law Adam, by starting with his hands, using the dust of the earth. (Oh, how I would love to have watched that process!) After looking over his work, he decided to breathe a life and soul into that hand-made body, and I believe he does it that way still, at every single conception. No life is purely biological, and no life is an accident, which includes “unplanned pregnancies.” Each one is the result of divine intervention and the plan behind it.
Micah Nathan is a creation of God, brought to the earth at this exact time for specific purposes that will only become known as his life unfolds day by day and year upon year. The full-circle verses are on my mind today as I picture Micah surrounded by the One who made him… because that One has gone before, will go alongside, will hover over, will support from beneath and will come behind Micah. I will be praying this child will delight in that place of security from a very young age.
My mind has spent this happy day flitting back and forth between Nate and Micah Nathan. Mom used to get close to the face of every newborn and coo, “You are precious because you were so recently with God.”
I’m not sure where she got that theology, but the concept of God’s personal touch on a baby is accurate. Stretching it one step further, I could coo to Micah, “As you left heaven to come to earth, did you see your grandpa?”
Of course that’s just the stuff of greeting cards, but as I’ve thought about Nate, unable to meet his little namesake, I’m wondering if maybe he knows all about him. It would be just like the Lord to let Nate share in the celebration of this day, from right there in paradise.
“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. You [Lord] go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” (Genesis 2:7, Psalm 139:5)