Category Archives: Children

A Painful Wait

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The Garden of Eden has been on my mind today, especially the moment God told Eve her blatant disobedience would result in pain during childbirth. (Genesis 3:16) She wasn’t a mother and didn’t know what childbirth was, let alone a child, but she knew that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good. She also didn’t know what intensity of pain God was talking about since she’d never experienced pain of any kind, but during her moments of discipline, she knew upcoming days would include some hardship.

Eve went on to bear many children in pain, and last night Birgitta got her first taste of what God meant. Painful labor contractions began while we sat at a birthday dinner for Lars in Chicago’s Loop. Mary and Bervin were hosting a meal for 12 at their condo, and immediately after Lars blew out his candles, we announced, “Birgitta’s in labor!”

Without thinking, every one of the guests rose to their feet simultaneously, an impulsive response to significant news. Old and young, male and female, we all know bearing babies is a really big deal. As we encircled Birgitta, her Uncle Bervin blessed her through a beautiful prayer, making sure to cover our newest family member, the little someone at the center of the birthing drama.

And then off we went to Michigan, a caravan of 3 cars: ours in the lead, Mary following (just in case we had roadside drama), Louisa and cousin Stina after that. My Highlander was already equipped with “a birthing kit” that included blankets (both baby’s and mama’s), towels, wipes, scissors, latex gloves, a flashlight, string, and a bulb syringe. RFA! *

Birgitta, valiantly breathing through frequent contractions, said, “I guess we should practice some of those breathing techniques we learned.”

“Yeah,” I said, “but I can’t remember! What were they?”

She reminded me, and I said, “I sure hope you can coach me through all this ok.”

Wanting to go home before the hospital to grab our overnight bags and to tend to Jack, the 3 cars gathered at the cottage. But just after we’d called the doctor and loaded the car, Birgitta’s labor began calming. Hospital personnel said, “Not just yet.” And so we waited. Through the night.

By morning, though, the pains were more regular, so off we went. But wishing doesn’t make it so. After hanging around the hospital for several hours without significant progress, the doctor suggested we head for home where Birgitta could continue laboring more comfortably. And so after 24 hours of excitement, today ends much as it began, with Birgitta laboring like a champion and the rest of us practicing patience.

I think Eve would be proud of my daughter’s courageous approach to “bringing forth children in pain.” And I know that the moment Birgitta meets her baby daughter, the whole drama will have been worth every single contraction.

“The earth [is] the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)

*Ready For Anything!

Ready… Set…

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Birgitta has been abundantly blessed by others who have supplied all she’ll need to get started mothering her baby girl. She’s completely ready.

Cousin Emily sent 8 monster-sized bins of goodies, along with a stroller, car seat, exer-saucer, play mat, and lots more. Birgitta’s work cohorts surprised her with a luncheon at Redamak’s Restaurant, showering her with added gifts, and last weekend another group pooled their resources to buy her a leather-look glider-rocker with matching ottoman.

Though Baby Nyman isn’t here yet, her mommy is ready.

Now, 2 days from her due date, Birgitta wakes up each morning wondering, “Is today the day?” But that’s a secret God is still keeping. Astoundingly, he’s kept it for a long, long time, from even before he’d made the first human. Way back then, though, he already knew Birgitta’s daughter.

Something else mind-boggling is that this little girl will, herself, be looking for God. Part of his forming her has been to shape her heart and mind to feel a need for him, a kind of mysterious awareness of her Creator that God tucks into each one of us before we’re born. Some people call it a God-shaped vacuum. Whatever it is, it’s an innate sense of things eternal.

I don’t pretend to understand all this. Scripture says, “God has planted eternity in the human heart,” but right after that it says, “Even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

I’m glad that was added, because it relieves the stress of trying to make sense of everything God says. He’s ok with us just believing it’s true because it’s coming from him. That’s good enough.

Neither Birgitta nor I understand all that’s happened within the heart and soul of her unborn child, and I’m thankful God has taken responsibility for it. By comparison to what he’s been doing, her preparation has been easy. It started with a list and ended when each item was checked off:

  1. The room has been redecorated and reorganized.
  2. The clothes are in the drawers.
  3. The hospital bag is packed.
  4. The diapers are stacked next to the wipes.
  5. The car seat is in the car.
  6. And the bassinet is empty, ready for its occupant.

But better than all that motherly readiness is that God is ready… well, at least 99.9%. As Birgitta testified in her blog post (A Word from Birgitta), her little girl is part of an “intentional and purposeful design set into place by an omniscient Creator.” And part of his intention is to keep the baby inside the mommy until he’s 100% finished with his pre-birth preparations of this little one.

When he’s ready, Birgitta will get a look at what’s he’s been up to during the last 9 months…. and will meet her baby.

“You saw me before I was born. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:16,13)

Lookout Point

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In August of 1972, Tim Taylor, a 13 year old Boy Scout, hiked alone up a mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wasn’t technically alone, since his scout troop was down the mountain a ways, enjoying a rest on their 3-day camping trip.

When Tim noticed that his topographical map had no name for that particular peak, he wondered if any human had ever been up there. That’s all it took for him to lace on his hiking boots and go. Once he reached the summit, he marked his milestone by writing a note and folding it into a small metal film canister, tucking it near the base of a massive rock.

One month ago another hiker, maybe just the second person to reach that spot, found the rusted canister, now 40 years old. The note, “looking like it was written yesterday,” said:

“TIM TAYLOR CLIMBED TO THIS PEAK, AUGUST 17, 1972, AGE 13 YEARS. ANYONE FINDING THIS PLEASE WRITE…” In an effort to be thorough he also wrote, “HEIGHT OF PEAK: 12785.”

The 2012 hiking party (a grandfather, son, and grandson) searched for Tim Taylor, now age 53, for over a month. No one at the old address had heard of him, but an article posted on the front page of the local paper jogged the memory of former neighbors and friends, and they notified Tim, who was astounded.

“It’s been a fun week!” Taylor said during an interview. When asked if he’d recently thought about his 1972 note, he said he’d wondered about it, off and on, throughout the years.

Surely as a boy he thought a great deal about the little canister sitting on the mountaintop, sometimes covered with snow, other times baking in the sun. Had anyone found it? Had it blown away? Was it still closed tight? Was the note ok?

Tim had questions, but of course the only one with the answers was God. He had his eye on the canister throughout those years, just as he has his eye on each of us at all times. As my mom used to say, “God keeps the books.” In other words, he’s watching over all parts of his world and all of us, all at once, all the time.

This is good news for people who quietly go about doing the right thing without being noticed. It’s bad news for those who do the bare minimum or act with wrong motives or cause damage. Nothing can be hidden from God, though he does encourage us hide ourselves…. in him.*

So what about Tim Taylor? Today he’s a San Diego County Superior Court Judge, probably writing lots of notes. Though he isn’t ready to retire, I’ll bet when he does, he’ll be lacing up his hiking boots and heading for that unnamed mountain.

* “You [Lord] are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7)