Awe and Wonder

How do you describe an event as full of awe and wonder as the birth of your first child? Wednesday night little Adeline Michelle Russo came bursting onto the scene of our lives around 11:04pm in the most amazing of ways!

This last Monday, three weeks before our original due date our doctor was concerned about our baby girls growth (IUGR) Intrauterine Growth Restriction. When she told us she wanted to induce I was thinking some time later in the week. Then the doctor said we needed to go on home to pack for our hospital visit that afternoon. A bit of shock and excitement filled us. We were overwhelmed that this was going to happen so soon.

We headed to the hospital bags packed  and hearts full of anticipation. Monday night passed quickly and Danielle began to receive Pitocin early Tuesday. By 5 that afternoon it became apparent it was not yet Addy's time. Another sleepless night and then wednesday morning the Pitocin began again. 

Danielle began labor that afternoon as small contractions grew into greater one's. At 10:30 pm after two days of waiting, the nurse said it was time for Danielle to begin pushing. Over the next 35 minutes I watched as Danielle worked. What unfolded was the most amazing thing I've seen with my eyes. Adeline was leaving the world of my wife's belly and entering ours! 

At 11:04 with a squeal and a deep breath of air, Adeline joined us! I gazed at her little body so frail and shaky. Watched her gulp down a big drink of air as her little lungs whirred to life. After some time with her momma I had the privilege of putting on her first diaper, picked her up in my arms, and experienced a glimpse of the "new life" of heaven right there in that hospital room.

My heart and mind burst with the significance and transcendence of that moment - the thin places where heaven touches earth. I was full of awe and wonder.  God's creative power! 

 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth." (Psalm 139:13-15)

On Turning 40!

Just 4 short weeks ago I came to a mile marker in life that can serve as the impetus for challenge and change or for disappointment and denial. Yes, I turned 40. The funny thing is I didn't ponder this striking reality the week of my birthday. Call it denial or busyness but while dodging trees and cutting corners today on a magnificent trail run, it hit me like a brick.

I was winding in and out of the crowded beauty of the forest, soaking in the cool breeze and the playful songs of the birds when I began to think about where I want to be headed in life. On the precipice of parenting and at a stage in life where I'm considering the second chapter of my vocational story, my mind felt clouded with options, questions, and unknowns.

So this is a mid-life crisis!!! Well, not really! I'm just in a place of wondering. Wondering about the coming year as a father, a husband, and a man who sincerely desires to lead others to know and enjoy the Lord! I find myself wondering about the trajectory of the next 4 to 5 years of my life. I think of personal and ministry goals and how I will continue to move forward with the Lord, trusting Him each day for daily bread and for His Kingdom to come.

As I write this I look out to see the setting sun washed sky. Beauty stretched out all around me. I'm reminded that God is real - God is Sovereign - God is active and involved in the here and now. And not just active as a transcendant deity far removed from human experience, but involved as a father in the lives of His children. This thought of God as Father is riveting! This truth gives me courage to consider the coming chapter of life and ministry. This truth motivates me to pray, seek, ask, and knock.

Rest Assured that even at the age of 40, or especially at the age of 40, I still have only to look to God as Father - as good - as Sovereign - and there I find peace!