My First Father’s Day Gift --NOAH’S BIRTHDAY!

As my beautiful son (!) Noah (望有）proceeded from my lovely wife (!) I was too amazed to be moved. It was just all too surreal.
It is hard to believe that I am actually "Dad". It is like a dream! Of course I imagined that I would be a father, but it is completely beyond what all I could imagine to actually now be a father. To know that for the first time I am completely responsible for another person’s life. To be the leader of not just my wife, but a family, my own family. To know that this little life is completely a gift from an unimaginably great Father in heaven. It is stupendous just to be a part of this process and see first-hand a new life brought into the world, all of his parts immediately working together better than any machine men could ever make, all of the right things in place – the desire and the ability to suck – the presence of breast-milk right when Noah needs it, the incredible love that I have been given by God to care for this little guy. I never thought I could experience a love that was even close to the love I have for Maki. After only a few hours with a little person I have never met before, I know a love deep inside that is close to my love for Maki! What an amazing dream. What an amazing heavenly Father. His grace is beyond words.

I had been praying that Noah would come during a weekend so that I wouldn’t have to find a substitute teacher. Noah’s delivery was a complete answer to prayer. The ride to Kyoto wasn’t bad for Maki. The hard contractions started right after we got to the hospital. I was so happy to go through that time with Maki and be able to encourage her. It was such a joy to be able to help her, even though I couldn’t actually bear the pain myself. The process was very fast for a first-born. 3 and a half hours after we got to the hospital, Maki had given birth to our first son! She was encouraged by the movie we had seen the night before, “Facing the Giants”. Maki faced the giant of her pain and fear so well, I just stand in awe of the works of God that surround this event. I don’t know how anyone could be so dead of heart to not see God through all of this, but I guess the Bible does say that those without Christ are spiritually dead. Thank you God for your grace that rescued me to see!

From here on out I hope to be a help to Maki and show the same grace that I have been shown to both her and Noah. Noah has inherited Adam’s sin and sinful nature just like we all have. I will need patience and wisdom – more grace from God every single day. But it brings me great joy that what God loves to do most is to give and keep giving. In this God gets the glory and we get the opportunity to glorify and enjoy Him. What a wonderful thing it is to be a part of Your family, O God!

(Stay tuned for pictures coming soon!)