Category Archives: Adult Children

Wonder of Wonders

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When a woman is 9 months pregnant, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind a baby will soon be born. But when a woman is 9 months and 7 days pregnant, everyone begins to wonder (especially the mother) if she’ll be pregnant forever.

Linnea woke this morning feeling fine on her regular 6:00 am walk but by 7:30 was wondering whether or not today might be D-day. When I came out of my room at 7:45, we chatted about several other things while Skylar and Micah played nearby, and then she brought up the situation.

Since she and Adam were hoping to have the baby in the comfort of their own home this time around, we decided it would be wise to call the midwives, located an hour away. Adam was at work, and the children’s other grandma, their babysitter for the day of birth whenever it arrived, was 45 minutes away.

At 9:00 am Linnea decided she was in labor. By 10:00 Adam was home, the children were gone, but the midwives and doula (Adam’s sister Aron) were still at large. It looked like Linnea, Adam and I would be meeting the baby by ourselves, and although Adam and I shared a few panicky glances, we never let the laboring Linnea see or hear our nervousness. I asked him for their turkey baster (for suctioning) and he whispered, “The midwives don’t do that.” And that was the end of our collective baby delivery knowledge.

At 10:27, the midwife arrived literally 5 seconds ahead of baby Autumn Faith, just in time to make the catch without taking off her jacket or putting on sterile gloves. Linnea, Adam and I simultaneously burst into tears of joy and relief while the midwife calmly took care of business. Aron walked in during baby’s first cry, and the second midwife a few minutes after that.

There is no greater miracle than a baby being brought into the world, and hours later our awe was still intense as we marveled at what had happened.

We wondered how anyone could participate in a birth and separate the process from God himself. Only he could put together what we witnessed this morning. Only he could design the intricacies of a new baby’s body, equipping it to change seamlessly from living in a watery world to breathing air. And only he could establish an eternal soul within that body, creating a person who will live eternally, because he made it so.

Tonight we are still in a collective daze, all of us brimming with good cheer, not just because a child has been born but because we were allowed to participate in the wonder of what God accomplished in our midst. Our celebratory toast included lavish prayers of gratitude, and since the pressure was off, the pregnancy was over, and the baby was safely delivered, a heartfelt Scripture:

“The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.” (Proverbs 13:19a)

Thank you, Lord.

A Happy Conundrum

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When Christmastime rolled around, all of Nate’s and my children were under my Michigan roof… except one. Hans and his British family were far away in England where they live, and we missed them dearly. With four thousand miles and an ocean between us, bridging the gap this year wasn’t possible.

My encouragement through the holidays was to know there was an empty seat on a plane to Great Britain waiting for me on January 17. Nicholas, age 3, and twins Evelyn and Thomas, 21 months, were looking for their Grandma MeeMee, and I was anxious to get reacquainted, since it’d been nearly a year since we’d been together.

Leaving Michigan on Tuesday and arriving in Manchester, England on Wednesday, I was concerned about the fatigue of jet lag, but that turned out to be wasted worry. This time there didn’t seem to be any, an astonishing surprise. (Thank you, Lord.)

Nicholas remembered his American grandma well, and the twins (who didn’t) had learned to walk and talk during our separation, all of which facilitated better communication.

Most delightful was listening to toddler British accents: “Oh dear!” was “Oh dee-ah!” and “No more” was “Nay moh.” Despite Hans’ strong American pronunciation, the 3 children speak distinctly British.

Katy has done a great job keeping American traditions alive with celebrations of the 4th of July and Thanksgiving, and I arrived to hand-made stars-and-stripes bunting strung in their living room. She’s also teaching them to enjoy Twizzlers, peanut butter and Nerds, distinctly American flavors, and they all visit the US as often as possible.

Sometimes when I’m in the States and they’re in England, it’s distressing to ponder the great distance between us, and it’s then I zero in on 4 things:

  1. Nate and I agreed we’d always let our kids manage their own adult lives, following their God-given dreams as thoroughly as possible without our objections, even if their choices weren’t ours.
  1. God leads in sometimes puzzling and surprising ways. He sees the long view of each life and puts the circumstances together accordingly.
  1. Watching my children lead satisfying, productive lives wherever they’re located is parentally pleasing.
  1. One day we’ll all live in the same town, the dwelling place of God, never to be separated again.

Katy and Hans are a perfect example of all 4 of these. They probably wouldn’t have met, except that God brought them from the UK and the US to New Zealand, where their participation in Youth With A Mission brought them together (God’s puzzling and surprising way).

Now, with a family, home, church and career, (satisfying, productive lives), they’ve followed their dreams (making their own choices) and also followed Jesus Christ (to his eventual eternal dwelling place).

And all of this brings delight to me, pleasure that negates even the inconvenience of a 4000-mile-wide ocean.

“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13)

All Fired Up

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As we gradually create new holiday traditions without our beloved father/husband, Christmas Day saw another “second annual:” the beach bonfire. With an overcast sky and sideways winds we wondered if we should pursue it. Temps were in the 30’s, but when the children woke from naps, we decided to try.

Nelson and Klaus went to the beach an hour before sunset to stoke up the fire, and when the rest of us arrived, it was roaring, successfully fighting the cold winds to keep us warm. We took turns standing in the sweet spot out of the way of sparks and smoke but in the path of warmth, nursing cups of hot chocolate and coffee. This year we also pursued s’mores, a big hit with the small fry.

To top everything off, God painted a spectacular winter sunset in Christmas colors at just the right time. We stood around the fire appreciating our hats, coats, and the view when Skylar said, “How ‘bout we make a sand castle?” The sun had set, the temp had dropped, and none of us wanted to kneel in the wildly blowing sand to build with gloved hands, so we distracted her.

Instead the fire was our focus, and I thought of how that’s been true for millennia: fires for warming, cooking, light, and in vehicles (from cars to rockets). But fire can be tricky. We can add things to make it bigger (gasoline) or to calm it (water). Sometimes it works best to subtract things (oxygen). Whether or not we want to increase or decrease a flame depends on what we want it to do for us.

The Bible highlights fire in both the Old and New Testaments, using it as a symbol of God’s presence, the truth of which does a great deal for us. When the children of Israel traversed the desert for 40 years, he personally led them by cloaking himself in a pillar of fire, a constant, sure reminder he was there. And who could forget the fire he sent down to pulverize Elijah’s sacrifice (and the water around it) as a demonstration of his superiority.

God also used fire in judgment (consuming Sodom and Gomorrah) and in animal sacrifice (obliterating sin). He even referred to the tongue as a destructive fire, especially in tale-bearing and gossiping. And then there’s God’s predicted judgment of the earth, a fiery destruction the likes of which we’ve never known. But worst of all will be the lake of fire for the devil and those who align themselves with him.

Fire destroys, but it can also purify. We sometimes refer to people as having had a “baptism by fire” in reference to hard times, yet God labels those very things “cleansing fires” sent to purify our hearts. Just as we can boil the impurities out of contaminated water, so he refines our imperfections, preparing us to one day meet Jesus.

In that sense, turning up the heat is his expression of deep love for us.

”Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)