November 12th, 2014 Happy Birthday Meredith. You became a one year old at twelve minutes after twelve this morning. You were a little one when you were born. Around three pounds and needing some assistance breathing. Your arrival was early about six weeks before your due date around December 27th. How you came to us so early is a story I hope you have learned before reading this writing. In the weeks that followed after your birth you did some pretty good things. By the third day after you were born, you didn’t need oxygen all the time and by the next week you were off oxygen breathing on your own and wiggling, kicking, and raising a fuss from time to time from what I was told. You were alert, responsive and passed your hearing test the first time the nurses and doctors evaluated your progress. I understand that not all babies pass their evaluations the first time. Someone forgot to tell you. You were about twenty-one inches long and as I said a bit over three pounds when you were born. Your eyes were a deep blue and you had very noticeable eyebrows. Hair was sparse but you had a bit. You spent your first two months (and more time after that) with your Grandmother and Grandfather Fendt in their house. They were so faithful rising in the night to feed you keeping your little tummy full and your body dressed and warm. We didn’t know what we would have done if they hadn’t taken on your care. To this day I feel gratitude and thankfulness for their tireless efforts to keep you so faithfully. As the months moved on from the time of your birth you grew at a good even pace. Because you came to us early your premature arrival has given you some small obstacles to overcome. You are just now beginning to crawl and pull up on your own. You are small also because your momma was a petite lady, only about five feet and three inches tall. From the beginning we could see you were very alert and you have shown a bit of an independent streak concerning your own needs. As you are developing muscle motor skills, we see you trying to walk, eschewing crawling for the more expedient form of travel. So right now we aren’t sure how much you’ll crawl before you learn to walk. Right now you enjoy music of all kinds. Sesame Street songs with singers keeps you very much occupied. When you sit on the floor or on the couch watching the laptop play Sesame Street songs you bounce and lean to the left and right trying to feel the music. Music is something that brings out your joy and I want you to know your momma was the same way when she was a baby. There is a lot of soothing going on when you do things I saw your momma do. You babble, jabber, and mimic sounds and certain parts of words quickly. When are awaken and playing this house is full of the sounds of your cheerful voice. One year old, we are so thankful for you and your first year. In times when your family is sometimes reflective of how life was, we can look toward you and see the true blessings we have been given. You represent what our faith tells us that is so true. We cannot understand why things happen the way they do, but God is not responsible for our sadness because the world can be a hard place for people. Our God does not take His children away any more than He punishes the wicked now. We earn our hearing before our Lord. While those that seem untouched by what they do thrive, they will earn their time in judgment just as we all will. I want you to remember something. I have learned this in the last year. My prayers were always for God’s will, even if His will was not what I wanted. I can’t expect God to answer my prayers for selfish wants or needs. I shouldn’t pray for things that God does not give. What I can pray for is God’s presence with me, for His help moving forward and for the wisdom and patience and yes, even the joy that I can find in being the person I am becoming now. Remember, God gives us the things that we need and sometimes we get much more than we expect. God cannot and will not give you things of this world. God does not make you rich, or give you things you want needlessly. He does not make the wind blow warm or cold when you want it. He does not cure your cold or take away your pain when you want it done. He will give you direction and discernment. If we use what we get from our relationship with God we will be rich in the spiritual life we crave and need. No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 37-39 These words are meant to warn us about the people in this world who will not like who you are and what you represent. Even though the words are thousands of years old and told of another time when Christians were persecuted, they are still true today. The ONLY thing that can truly take God from you is yourself. Your choices will always be worldly or shaped by what you believe through Christ and God. I know some of what I say now is difficult to understand. You will grow to know what all the words mean as you become a beautiful young lady. We have come a long way, your Dad and Nina and me since last year. We will always be going forward. Part of the reason we are where we are now is because of you our one year old blessing, that we love so much. You don’t know as I write this now, but your love for us is God’s grace and blessings and that is something the world cannot give us. God is good. Dad
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 06:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015