Praise God that Kelli and I were born to extraordinary families. Praise God for all of you, our friends and family, who truly enrich our lives. The last two weeks with Mac, and seeing the whole pregnancy and birth process, really makes me think about my parents and about how amazing (and slightly humorous) God is and can be. Time permitting, and if you chose to humor me, please read this somewhat lengthier email about Mac, Kelli, and me. I think this will be my last email update for the time being. I plan to use my website as a blog for future Mac updates. It is not finished yet, but once it is, you can subscribe to Mac updates on the blog. The website is www.millertj.com, and I hope to have it quasi-up-an-running in the very near future. So for those who don’t read on, check out the website in the future.
For those who do chose to read on, I apologize in advance for my sentimental tone. I pray that God shows you my heart.
Well, for those of you who are parents and those who have seen the birth process (the crazy part where the head and baby come out of the same region it all started), you know what I mean when I say that it is somewhat indescribable. For me, I am left with an abiding conviction that God is clearly a creator; one with a pretty crazy, intelligent, seriously thought out, and very cool design, us. Seeing all of that brings me closer to Him. It shows me how thought out I am. It shows me how much He has blessed me. He chose amazing parents for me. I am who I am thanks to my mom and dad kissing under the bleachers and falling in love. I am who I am because long before even the first Jaws swam in the ocean, long before there was even an ocean to swim in, God chose me to be one of his loved ones, He chose me to be my dad’s son, my mom’s little “bear.” He chose all the blessings associated with that family, for me: awesome siblings (most of the time), loving and involved grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends, etc. What did I do, before my parents even decided to have me (I am the only planned one!), that I deserve this love? What did God see me doing to bless me so tremendously? I don’t have the answer, but I do know the answer. Huh, you say? I don’t have the answer because I have done nothing to date in my life to deserve this love. I am a good guy, but there are men far greater than me who have not been blessed to my same measure. I am left convicted. I pray that I become a better man. I pray that I never take for granted God’s grace. I pray I never forget that it was God who gave me this blessed life, my loving parents, and my beautiful wife. I pray that by the time I go to hang out with Grandpa Mac, Uncle Mike, my dog Max, and everyone else in eternity, that I have lived a life deserving of this blessing. I will strive to be deserving of this blessing, but know full well that there is nothing I can do to deserve it. There is nothing I can do to deserve being blessed so much, and there is definitely nothing I can do to earn my salvation. Why do I deserve His love? I don’t. I don’t have the answer. I do know the answer. The answer is Christ. Thank God for His son, His life, His death, His resurrection, His love, His spirit, and my salvation, which I know I have thanks only to Him. I pray that whether through a birth or any other magnificent sight of His creation, that you too come to see and know this amazing love.
So why slightly humorous? There is a lot of humor in birth, especially Mac’s. One example, just one. Mac came out (head first). His head finally popped out, followed by a rush of meconium, poop! Our very talented and quick Doctor, took immediate action (meconium is very harmful if the baby swallows it) and ordered the N.I.C.U. to come. He then reached in and grabbed Mac, pulling him out of Kelli. As he did so, he realized that Mac had the umbilical cord around his neck. He removed the cord, the N.I.C.U. arrived and attended to Mac, and as you know, all is well. Mac came out with a rush of poop, God has a sense of humor. Mac, covered in poop, was then placed on Kelli, skin to skin. Mac pooped some more. Kelli was well covered.
All of that to say, I am undeserving and very thankful for my parents. I have only been blessed with Mac for two-weeks, but already have an amazing love for him. I see and know that Kelli too loves Mac more than I can describe. The only way to describe it is to relate to it, to be a parent. Now that I am a parent, I have a new appreciation and love for my own mom and dad. Since all of you have parents, for those of you who still have loving parents in your life, I encourage you and challenge you to remember that love you had for your child as they were born and remember that your parents had/have that same love for you. For those of you that aren’t parents, seriously, take my word, your parents deserve a phone call, a letter, a visit, a hug, a very clear, “I love you.”
I am now a dad. I don’t know what to do. Thank you God for my dad. If there is ever a perfect example of how to be a dad, if I ever need to google what to do when Mac does blank, I can just call my dad, cause he knows. I pray I learn to be my dad.
God loves Mac. He has blessed Mac just as he blessed me. Awesome parents, duh, Kelli and I. Four pretty spectacular grandparents, our parents! Even great grandparents, and they are GREAT! Mac also gets Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and all of our friends (you!) as part of his blessed life. I am so excited to teach Mac about all of these blessings, how loving God is, how gracious God is, how undeserving we are, and how amazing Christ is that He sacrificed his own life, conquered death and rose again, to give us everlasting life.
You ALL are a part of our blessing. Thanks be to God, of course, but THANK YOU for being you, for being as small or as big of a part of my family’s life as you are. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for not only my parents, but for each and every person who loves me, who has simply been kind to me, for all of you who truly and sincerely have blessed my life, blessed Kelli’s life, and now… Baby Mac’s!!!