"Being a parent is learning about the strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed."
This was a happy session...a happy day....a nice warm sponge bath, freshly combed hair, and lots and lots of cuddles. You can see the love this mommy and daddy have for their son radiate from every inch of them. But I still struggle with what to say when sharing a beautiful baby's first session in the NICU. Because there is no way I could ever understand what this couple, and all NICU parents, have felt on any given day. Their precious son is thriving and growing, and they radiate courage and joy and faith. But I can't imagine it has been an easy journey. Fortunately these sweet parents seem to know that easy is not what God designed us for. I don't know that I live it out nearly as well.
Psalm 66:10 says "For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver." And as I watch these precious parents, that is the visual that keeps surfacing. Two strong, faithful people who have been made even more so through the refining of trials. I think parenting does this to everyone to a certain degree...you truly are allowing your heart to live outside of your body. And that's scary. But I imagine it is amplified to the Nth degree when spending your first few months of your child's life in the hospital. If you couldn't tell, I am completely inspired by these guys, and so invested in baby Campbell, and cannot wait to see them again--at home!--very soon.
