He Came with the Morning

Friday, January 8

I fiddled with my ring while mom picked up the phone to talk to Drew, and her face froze:

“It’s time?”

They induced Leanna tonight, and all I know about that is it will get the baby here tomorrow or the day after.

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Saturday Evening, January 9

Got kids clambering all over me as we wait for this baby to come. Things are slow, they say. All we can do is wait and pray and then go about our Saturday work, chores, walks, meals, and football games—

But it’s all with the spark that at any moment, all at once, everything could change.

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Saturday Night, January 9

It’s late, and still, we wait.

“Your sorrow will turn to joy.”

Praying it comes with the morning.

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Sunday, January 10

Barrett John came with the morning, but only by an hour. My phone lit up with a text at 3am saying a boy had been born at 1am— crusty and black-haired. He had weak lungs, so they took him from Leanna to wire-up in NICU.

They said it’s hard, but good and beautiful too. And this evening, he’s sucking in air on his own after Leanna held him to herself for an hour.

The Lord gave today. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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Monday Morning, January 11

And this morning gave us our first glimpse of his eyes, with a picture and text from Drew that said:

“They’re blue!”

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Tuesday, January 12

The sun is red over the frost, and I found something to pray over Barrett John from John’s gospel:

“But all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

May he learn that name and be born one more time and know Joy that comes with the morning (John 16:22).

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See The Shadows Before Sunrise