ABC Wednesday: R is for...

Rollercoaster...the emotional kind. The past couple days have been filled with intense emotional highs and lows. My best friend has been joyfully anticipating becoming a grandma in a couple months. (And since she is my soul sister, I've been feeling her anticipation too...like I'm about to be a soul grammy or honorary great auntie or some such thing! lol) Her oldest daughter was married last fall, and she and her husband were expecting their first baby in late August. Exciting times!!! Whoohoooo!!!!!!!

Well...this little boy had a mind of his own and decided to arrive waaaay early. Monday morning, just after 4am, baby Liam came into the world weighing only 1lb-9oz, measuring 12.5 inches in length. He is exquisite from the top of his little round head to the tip of his tiny perfect feet. However, being so incredibly premature - only 24-25 wks gestation - his condition is fragile. So our hearts careen up and down between joy and fear...bubbles of joy at this new life in our midst...fear his life will be a short one.

He has been in and out of critical condition. But he is strong and has pulled through each time. The team at the local children's hospital (the IWK in Halifax) are amazing. I was blessed to be able to visit Liam in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for a few minutes yesterday...as I watched his chest rise and fall with the ventilator, I was powerfully and palpably aware of the breath of the Spirit that enlivens us. The Spirit that flows through the people around us...those who develop life saving equipment, those who devote their lives to caring for others.

My heart is filled with ceaseless prayer and boundless love for Liam and his family, who have become my family over the past few years. I have wept at the outpouring of love and prayer and deepest compassion poured out by all who surround this family. They truly are held in the arms of God. May our journey with Liam be a long one.

Check out the other posts over on the ABC Wednesday site