FACE TO FACE
A Time of Reflection Pat Cirrincione It was April 10, 2011. The call came in around nine in the evening. “Mom and Dad, Lindsay’s just gone into labor. Can you meet us at the hospital?” And just like that it began: hours of labor, future parents (my son and daughter-in-law) and grandparents (my husband and I) waiting for their first child and our first grandchild to be born. What an evening as first we sat, then we paced, then we got to go and visit our son and his wife for a few minutes. Then more hours of sitting, drinking hospital coffee, dozing off and then our son was standing there telling us that we had a ten-pound granddaughter. We sat in shocked amazement. A granddaughter? Don’t you mean a grandson? Didn’t all the crazy tests you had been doing for nine months indicate that a boy was to be born? Are you sure it’s a girl? “Yep! It’s a girl” our son told us, and then I was racing into the delivery room to see her. What a sight! Red faced, and howling, “How dare you take me from the warmth of the womb into this cold world!” She was not happy. Our son looked at his wife, then at his daughter screaming in his arms and then he did one of the most amazing things—he came over to me and placed this beautiful, red-faced, screaming little bundle of life into my arms, and I fell totally in love. I remember taking her to a quiet corner of the room and speaking softly to her, telling her who I was and that I would love her all of my life; that I would be her Nana, and she would be my special number one granddaughter; and that I would be there for her always. What a moment of pure love and joy. What a wonderful gift from God. And so it began, and it was now April 11, 2011. How do you thank God for the gift of new life, a new beginning, a new face in the Creator’s world. It’s a pretty strong feeling, and if you thought your prayers were going up during the pregnancy, that all would turn out healthy and well, it is nothing like your prayers every day for this new human being. You pray for their health, their welfare, that they won’t be bullied once they begin school, that they won’t be the bully, that they will come to know the Lord and rely on him, that he will make them strong and courageous as life comes at them with all of its challenges. Since that day, nine years ago, we have been blessed with three more granddaughters. As we look at them, laugh with them, go to their christenings, birthday parties and school functions, we wonder what they will do with their lives. Will they become doctors, lawyers, teachers, race car drivers, Olympic champions in soccer or baseball, missionaries who carry out the Lord’s commission and spread the word of the gospel to some far corner of the world? Will they be courteous and well mannered? Will they place God front and center in their lives? So many questions, and no answers at these early stages. We do see kindness in their hearts already and love for their family and delight at family gatherings as they play with their cousins, laugh and joke around with each other. Again, we are still in the early stages of their lives and wonder what God will decide for them.
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