Yesterday, Janet and I passed a benchmark that I have thought about for years but didn’t really think about when it would come to pass. Our oldest child turned 50! Now I know that to many of our readers that milestone happened some time ago, but for Janet and me it kind of crept up on us and I think it is taking a little getting used to. I have filed it under the heading of “time flies.”
Aside from the fact that Kristin is incredibly lovable, her most endearing trait is the fact that you can’t be around her and not have a good time. Kristin can blend into almost any group and has no fear about being the life of the party. And there is no mountain too tall to keep her from scaling it. As an example, as she was preaching at church on Star Wars Sunday, May 4th, she reminded the congregation that rather than saying, “Peace be with you…”, they should say, “May the 4th be with you…” in honor of the remembrance of the Star Wars franchise. Hundreds of people laughed and then passed the peace as instructed… I have to admit, it was bold, but very popular and engaging. And it was vintage Kristin…
Being our first child, Janet and I were young and really didn’t know what to expect with a new baby. Of course, this was in 1975 and things were much different then. Janet went into labor on the evening of June 23rd and we had no idea that it would be 12:32 p.m. on June 25th when Kristin would be born. Janet has been suffering with thyroid problems and it was decided that we would use Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in downtown Chicago for Kristin’s birth, where most of her doctors were located.
Anyway, I was totally unprepared for the moment of her arrival. It had recently come to pass that Dads were allowed in the delivery room and I was there to witness our firstborn come into this world. Thankfully, I was also there for the birth of Jill and Andrew several years later. Anyway, the nurses on duty had come to know us during the prior 36 hours and were very friendly by the time Kristin made her entrance.
In fact, I asked them to help me test a theory. I had heard that new Dads could sometimes pick their child out of the sea of babies that were delivered in the hospital. And let me tell you, there were many babies born at Pres. St. Luke’s every day! I was all in to test it out.
Well, they had all the baby boys in one area of the nursery and the baby girls in another room. To be fair, and to avoid any sort of cheating, all the name tags were turned around so the names of the babies wouldn’t be visible to me. Of course, I only had to worry about half the nursery, as the girls were all on the same side. The curtains had been drawn to hide the activity and make the experiment as authentic and objective as possible. The nurses were all lined up and ready to go. I thought I had a little advantage as I had been in the delivery room, but they tried as hard as they could to prepare me.
As the curtains were opened and I stood in the hallway looking into the nursery, the entire floor of nurses broke out laughing. There, in a sea of baby girls who had been born in the last day or two was a crib, pretty much in the middle of the room, with the only Caucasian baby in the room. The joke was on me. Yes, I successfully identified our daughter, but it became quite a story on the floor and I admit I was a little embarrassed. But… I passed the test. And it has become one of the fondest memories I have of Kristin’s birth.
I should have known that this singular event was just the first in a lifetime of fun, jokes, compassion, care, love and an ability to live life to the fullest. It has never stopped! She’s also a fantastic mother and wife!
Our verse for tonight comes from the Psalms. The psalmist remarks on the gift of children, and tells us, in Psalm 27:3-4, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.”
Janet and I have been blessed with the gift of children. And to this day, I am still thrilled that Janet and I decided to have our children when we were in our early twenties. That way we were able to grow older with them and share our lives more fully with Kristin, Jill and Andrew. My encouragement this evening is that it is important for us to remember that God entrusts His children to us. My prayer is that we will realize that raising God’s children is one of the most important things that we will ever to do. We must succeed in doing it well! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… And Happy Birthday, Kristin! We love you, and God loves you, more than you can possibly imagine!