A few thoughts to share from the last week and half or so.
Surreal. People ask me what it feels like to be a parent. It’s kinda surreal at this time. Praise the Lord!
Labor. During labor I was thinking that Romans 8:22, describing how painful this world is, is such an apt metaphor based on the pain that the wife was experiencing. But now, with the labor behind us, I see how apt a metaphor Romans 8:22 is in describing the hope we look forward to. What joy it is to even see her! Some people say that once the baby is out, you wish she was back inside. Not a chance. Even with the interrupted sleeps and all. A good friend gave me a verse (Proverbs 13:12) that is descriptive of this.
Love. it is easy to see wife and baby and say “I love you” after all they are both lovely. They both fill my life with joy. Yet to love is difficult. To love means to put their needs and desires ahead of mine. The words “I love you” are validated when I want time off to play games or when I’m too tired in the middle of the night to take care of baby so that the wife can sleep. In some ways to say “I love you” is a way to fill my own desires, that is, they are objects of delight to me (they provide me something). The idea should rather be that they are objects of my delight (I provide for them something; to love is to give). So saying I love you can be a very selfish thing if I am not careful. The selfish aspect love can be said of gardening, fishing, or chocolate.
Parental appreciation. I wonder if we can really appreciate our parents until we are parents. First of all everyone should thank their mothers on their birthday rather than expect a gift. ** think labor** Then there is the constant care the parents give to a newborn. What child ever appreciates that? I guess there is much more that I don’t know yet also. Hmmm. I wonder if this is why parents struggle with worrying too much…
The gnomie position. When we burp her she is too small to put over our shoulders. So we have her sit and then hold her cheeks and let her head hang down being supported by our hand on her cheeks. Then we pat her back to burp her her. She looks like a garden gnome when we do this to her, especially when she has a pointy hat on (yes, many of her hats are pointy for some reason). Her forehead is all browed up, and she is in a hunched position. Now when we burp her, we call her gnomie! (Baby- when you find this on the internet years from now, we think gnomes can be cute. See phrases below.)
Rejoice with those who rejoice. We are showered with congratulations, gifts and food from our family, friends and especially people from our church. Many of these people are the same ones who mourned with us when we mourned and now are rejoicing with us as we rejoice in God’s blessings (Rom 12:15). It brings to mind that when we receive something we ought to first give thanks to God, then we are to celebrate God’s goodness. A gift of grace is to be rejoiced in, the joy only increases when others celebrate with you. So, a big thank you to God, and a big thank you to family and friends.
Phrases. Prayers are “thank God.” common phrase around the house is “she is so cute.”
Nicknames. The nick names I used to call my wife, I realize can be used now to call my daughter. So when I say “babe” or “sweetie” I have to clarify who I am speaking to.
Analysis. Yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet of her feeding, and diaper changes, including pivot tables and graphs. And yes, at some level is it useful.
millionplus1thoughts 