Marco Polo

THIS WEEK my Aunt Qatresha had a baby boy - Marco Neil Champagne. He is her and my uncle Neil's second child.

When I found out on Tuesday night, the last day of November, that she had gone into the hospital, I hoped that I would get the chance to wait in the waiting room for him to be born like I had for several of my other little cousins. I got my wish. My mother and I got to the hospital around 8:00 pm and went to my aunt's room. She had not had the baby yet.

I went with my mom, my grandparents, and my little cousin Maya to wait in the waiting room. This was the hospital where Maya had been born two and a half years ago, and this was the waiting room where I had waited for her to be born. Since I had no idea how long we would be there, I worked on homework while I waited. Then I finished my homework, and I watched some television while I waited some more. Then it was past midnight, and we turned off the lights while we watched Roxeanne and M.A.S.H. and tried to get to sleep. The room was chilly and the chairs were not built for sleeping. But I do not regret the wait, which lasted until about 4:00 am, because at the end of it I got to see Marco.

Seven lbs., seven ounces, born in Room Seven. Marco was precious as he wimpered for food and wrinkled his eyes, unaccustomed to air. What a miraculous thing, what a wonderful way God designed for new people to be born. To begin protected by their mothers, to be so delicate that every instinct instructs others to protect them, their voices being like tiny birds or fallen snow. To have all working parts, covered in the softest of skin. To be the most precious kind of person, one for whom even the opening of the eyes is a miracle, and everyone gets the chance to be a baby at some point. It reminds me how precious we are to God, and how much He wants to hold us and keep us safe, how He wants us to know we have been created by Him, for Him. Every baby is another reason to believe in God.

Psalm 139: 13-16 "[13] For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. [14] I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. [15] My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. [16] Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."

Maya, Marco's big sister as she proudly declares, would not get to see Marco until much later that day, because she had been waiting for so long that she had become grumpy. Her parents wouldn't want her to be unhappy the first time they met. It must have been very difficult for Maya, having been an only child for her two and a half years, to understand why she couldn't see her mom for hours that night, and where her daddy kept going, and what exactly she was waiting for. As I waited with her she seemed to get increasingly tired and grumpy, although she was still very cute with her "Big Sister" shirt and her curly hair. She told my grandma that her Bankey Dog, the toy dog she carries around, was mad, but that probably meant that she was mad.

Maya was asleep when I left the hospital that night/morning. The difficulty of her waiting made me think of how hard it is sometimes for us to understand our circumstances. Like Maya knew there was a wonderful little brother on the way, we trust God that He has good things planned for us. So it's sometimes frustrating when we run into problems and challenges or when things don't go the way we expect. But even if the process irritates us, it is good for us.

One of my favorite verses lately is Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." This is encouraging because although we will inevitably face discouragement and frustration, God has not forgotten us. We are His children, after all. In the same chapter, Romans 8:14-15 say "[14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. [15] For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father,'" 'Abba' means 'Daddy.' We are precious to God, so He will challenge us and teach us, and He will not leave us disappointed. At the end of the day, Maya did get to see her brother. If we hold on to God's promises, we will never be disappointed.