Monday Morning Manna: Praying for New-born Babies and Their Parents

When I was born, the hospital in Temple, Texas had a show window where they placed their idea of the best-looking baby to be born that day/week. Partly because someone thought I was that baby, and partly because my mother was a registered nurse in the same hospital, I spent a full week in the show window. Of course, I don’t remember it, but I was reminded of it many times through the years. Last week I walked through the new-born section of a local hospital. One cannot do that without also talking a trip down memory lane. First it was the memory of a hospital in McAllen, Texas where our daughter was born. Then memory shifted to a slow trip on an ice-covered road, to a hospital in Greenville, Texas, where our son was born. Another memory shift took me to a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas where my granddaughter was born. Finally, my memory shifted to another Fort Worth, Texas hospital where my grandson was born. What a trip! How can one walk through the new-born section of a hospital without thinking about the days ahead for the new parents (and yes, the new grandparents also), knowing that there will never be another day quite like the day (or night) when their baby was born. You already know what they will soon learn, that one of the amazing things about becoming a parent is that you are no longer your own first priority. You pray that the new parents will raise their babies, “In the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). You pray that the babies will make good use of their years, years that pass more quickly than they, or their parents, can imagine, as you remember the words of legendary sports announcer, Vin Scully, “It’s a mere moment in a man’s life between an All-Star Game and an Old-timers Game.” From a hospital show window in Temple, Texas to the hallways of a local hospital – a long trip; a rush of memories, a heart-felt prayer.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.