January 5 – “Children’s Children”

No work on the house today.  Chris kind of put her foot down.  It was pretty chilly out, and with still no electricity, it would have been miserable.  Instead, I spent the morning working on some files and beginning work on my sermon.  That would be the sermon I may not need for this Sunday, but more about that later.  I also spent fifty-two minutes on the phone with Josh.  He was looking for a place his church could go this summer where they could do some mission work.  Thought maybe Galveston or somewhere near here might work.  I put him in touch with a few possibilities.    Actually we were the ones who called him.  We wanted to check on his incredibly pregnant wife, Christi.  Why?  Because last week at her doctor's appointment she was already in very early labor – Caleb was just beginning to spread his wings and move in the direction of breathing some of that cold North Texas fresh air.  Not that he was ready, exactly.  The doc said if he came too soon he could end up in NICU.  But on the other hand, she made it past Christmas, so it's technically OK for him to make his appearance.  One way or the other we were put on notice to pack our bags and be ready for a quick trip to Mansfield.   Nathan and April had their doctor's appointment today to see how Cailyn is doing.  After being kept waiting for an hour and a half, they were finally called back.  The doctor greeted them with some unexpected news.  "So how does next Wednesday sound for inducing and getting this baby out?"  April said they both went into shock.  Because of her blood clot problem they knew she had to be off her medication for a few days before the birth.  It just never occurred to them that that meant a planned delivery date.  Nathan has been arranging days off, but they weren't going to start until the next week.  He's scrambling for vacation or swap time to get his schedule cleared.    Well, we had to call Josh and Christi back to get their take on the whole thing.  Josh just said, "Wow."  Christi was a bit more eloquent, however.  Her competitive nature kicked in, and she said she was going to go take a walk.  "Caleb is still going to come first."     Nana and DadDad here are just hoping for at least a day or two separation so we can get back and forth from Mansfield to St. Luke's.  This is not exactly the kind of race we expected our children to be running.  Not that we mind the end results.  We can't wait to get to spoiling.   Proverbs 17:6 says, "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."  I don't know about this "aged" thing, but I'm all for children's children.   Father, protect my children's children.  The ones who are about to arrive and the ones who have already made their appearance.  I already love them.  I know you do, too.  Amen.