Brother and Sister

Josiah is a month old, we haven't posted in almost as long, and we've said hello and goodbye to two sets of grandparents. It's hard to even remember the month we've had. But we're going to catch up a little today and tell the story of Sarah and Josiah meeting each other.

I had been testing the water every once in a while the weeks prior, picking up a baby in view of Sarah and watching her reaction. All signs pointed to jealousy. Yet she loved to talk about her baby brother inside Mama's belly. If only she knew that Mama's "baby" bump and that "baby" I was holding were so similar. We really weren't sure how she would do with this little guy.

So we made plans that my parents would take her to the hospital the day after he was born. We prepared her, and they coached her all along the way. Soon enough, we could hear her little feet pattering down the hospital hallway. We still didn't know how she would do.

We didn't realize it at the time, but it was a sweet providence of God that pastor Nick was holding him when they arrived. I walked out into the hallway and carried her to him, introducing her to her little brother. When anyone but Emily or I are holding a baby, she is very interested. She was quite taken by this baby and his hat, telling us all about it. So I set her in the bed next to Emily and put her new little brother in her arms. She was a little nervous for fewer than 5 seconds, but quickly filled with delight. Soon enough, she was tenderly touching him, holding him all by herself, and even tickling his toes.She loved her new baby.

Looking back, I wonder if being introduced to him in the way she was helped her quite a bit. She saw him first as a little baby she was helping us to take care of, and she's continued to look at him that way. If she had walked in to the sight of Emily or me holding her, perhaps she would have felt threatened. But that day he wasn't something that was stealing our attention from her, and she still doesn't see it that way. She rocks him to sleep, gets all compassionate when he cries, and always tells us what he's up to (baby rockin', baby ky-in', baby eat, baby nite-nite.) Somehow the Lord is using it to bring out her compassionate and maternal side, rather than her selfishness. I'm not sure how He's doing it, but I know at least some of it was due to a factor totally out of my control.

Sarah's father didn't know what she needed that day, but our heavenly father did. And we have one more thing to thank him for.