“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,” ~ Matthew 18:5 (ESV)
Baby Girl was her name in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The nursing care was wonderful and competent. A blend of professionalism and warmth. I witnessed it firsthand.
Baby Girl had been in the womb of expectation for Andrew and Chrissy Wolgemuth for a couple of years. They had invested in their dream by personally devoting themselves to the classes required to be foster parents in the state of Colorado. They were pregnant with hope, even while embracing the uncertainty, and difficulty associated with fostering. They were called to this – as parents, as caregivers, and most importantly, as followers of Jesus. Nothing could have been more sure in their minds, even as the months languished and the silence grew deafening.
The foster parenting gestation cycle is very unusual. It involves months and months of preparation – and then a very, very short delivery. The phone rings and a case worker announces that a child is waiting. A child is waiting. Baby girl is waiting.
On July 25 Andrew and Chrissy got this call.
For a number of reasons Baby Girl was in the NICU in a Denver hospital… she would be there for the next four weeks. But she would not be without the touch of love or the voice of hope – Andrew and Chrissy made certain of that. It was inconvenient, but then a calling often is.
Love for this new life didn’t blossom, it exploded on the scene. Courage not caution ruled the day. Chrissy and Andrew held and fed and loved and sang to and talked with and prayed for Baby Girl… without guarantees, without legal advice, without holding back.
Obedience demanded abandon. A calling required unconditional love.
And now, Mary and I have six grandchildren. Even as Andrew and Chrissy lean diligently into the process of adoption we have all decided not to wait for the paperwork to clear. We will love… with hands wide open and hearts in full embrace. Is this not what we do with all of our children and grandchildren?
Baby Girl. Sweet, sweet baby girl. At home now. Surrounded by noise, not tubes. By sisters, not nurses. By love.
Welcome home, Baby Girl. Welcome to our hearts. Welcome to the full embrace of Jesus.
Bless you, Andrew and Chrissy. You have expanded our hearts even as you have obeyed your Heavenly Father.
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As usual, Dan….you knocked it out of the park! Congratulations! And God Bless.