Waiting for Smalls...

There is yet no word from Chicago. After eight and a half months of serious construction work, elder son and his lovely wife, having done everything they can to prepare, are now just waiting for the appearing of their first-born…a child of unknown gender who has become affectionately known in the family as “Smalls.” 

And it’s not just Chicago that’s waiting. Here in a small town four hours away, a suitcase is mostly packed, a list is made, the gas tank is full, and a new rocker is ready to stuff into the minivan for what will be a very speedy trip along the toll roads between here and the Prentice Women’s Hospital just a block from Lake Michigan. Other than that…we’re just waiting, too.

It occurs to me, however, that this is a different kind of waiting…something that evokes Advent rather than late summer. It is anticipation tinged with joy and anxiety and a kind of wide-eyed wonder at the mundane miracle of love that blossoms into new life. 

Wouldn’t it be marvelous if each day could dawn like this? How might our lives (and the lives of those around us) be changed if we let the Spirit so work in our hearts? There are, after all, different ways of receiving the days we are given. Perhaps we see what lies before us each morning as a kind of nervous and judgmental “to do” list, ready to condemn us for not getting everything done that we should and reminding us that we’re always behind somebody’s idea of a schedule. Better, I think: the tasks we take on today are an opportunity for living into God’s future, building for the coming of something as wonderful as a new child…that hopeful kingdom which in Christ has already come near, and that shows itself in each chance to share the healing and hopeful word of God.

Someday soon, I get to be a grandfather for the first time. Until that day, I’d like my preparations to be worthy of the miracle of the gift of life that God is granting…not just in baby Smalls, but in each and every person who is part of the work and play, service and sharing, laughter and sorrow and joy we are given to share with each other. With God’s help… 

By the way...The name? A result of morning sickness and this.