Lincoln James Green came into the world Saturday April 4th, 2015 at 10:04 am. We were on the road, traveling from our home in east central Alabama to his home in central Arkansas when the pictures and text notified us of the blessed event. Lincoln’s mother (Kenzie) grew up in Abilene and I like to kid her about how Texans don’t dilly dally around—they go to the hospital at 7:30 and have the baby 2 ½ hours later. Don’t mess with Texas!
Lincoln weighed in at 8 ½ pounds and by the time we arrived in the late afternoon, he was remarkably alert and serene—like he knew he was meeting people who had been waiting on him to arrive and already loved him deeply. Being a grandparent is not a bad deal; there’s the joy you have about your grandchild being born but there’s also the joy you experience from seeing all of this in your children. I’m not sure that things get a lot better than this on earth and I have to believe that whatever heaven will be like, it will have something of these kinds of moments.
Later Janice and I talked about what an extraordinary thing a birth is. For nine months the baby is inside its mother. Though they are two distinct individuals, they share one body. Then one day—here comes the baby! He or she was inside and suddenly (or not so suddenly) they’re out in the world. What had been invisible is now visible. (I understand that we can track it all with technology but there’s simply no way that what you see on a screen remotely compares with what you hold in your arms).
There’s nothing more natural than having babies as people have been doing it since Adam and Eve. Still, there is something “other world” about it. You look into a baby’s eyes (as they look into yours) and there’s something going on that can’t be explained in terms of science. A mass of tissue? That’s like saying the Mona Lisa is a painting or a Redwood Sequoia is a tree. It’s not wrong as far as it goes—it just doesn’t go anywhere near far enough.
When Eve gave birth to her first-born, she said she did it with “the help of the Lord” (Genesis 4:1). The psalmist says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” Welcome to this world Lincoln. You never need to wonder about who you are, where you came from or why you’re here. You arrived with the help of God and are a gift from Him.
And we’re glad you’re here!
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 