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In His Hands.

April 6, 2020

A hand holding a baby Description automatically generated

Lesson One: Even though we can’t see Him sometimes during our suffering, trials, and valleys, Our Daddy God has us safely In His Hands.

In His hands.

Caleb was in the neonatal unit right after birth. Yup, he was the biggest in the room at 8 pounds and 8 ounces. Giant among little ones. I was helping my wife pack our stuff for her to go home. Words can’t express having to leave our son behind in the hospital. Such a lost kind of feeling. We were alone. The phone rang. Our pediatrician was on vacation at the time of Caleb’s birth and on the line was the doctor who was covering her patients.

In his hands.

The doctor said that Caleb’s nurse reported low APGAR scores (test of newborn health ), a “Simian Crease” in the palm of his hand (sign of Down’s Syndrome) , and his pinky fingers were curved, called Clinodactyly (another sign of Down’s Syndrome). He was breathing very rapidly, a state of respiration call Tachypnea.  So fast, he could only eat from a nasogastric tube.

In His Hands.

What? Our baby boy. Something is wrong. Many things could be wrong. No visit. A phone call. Fear, anxiety – two young parents wondering. Minds racing. Prayers. Oh Father. We need you.

Raechel meeting her new baby brother.

Meet Caleb

It was May 14th, the year 1994. My boy was about to be born. Caleb Vernon Anderson was going to be his name. His older sister, Raechel, (by nineteen months), his mom, Lisa, and I were so excited. The time came.

The son that I had dreamed of teaching how to play ball, car races, work on cars – was about to make his entrance into our world. It was time – I was standing ready with scissors to cut the cord.

What happened next, still vivid in my memory – was the doctor yelling for the neonatal resuscitation team, “STAT””.

So the journey began, Caleb’s classroom had commenced. I was one of his pupils. After 26 years, yes, my baby boy is 26 years old, my son has taught me so many life lessons. Although he is still non-verbal (aside from our “grunt talks”), he has taught me much. And he has taught others too.

God created Caleb Vernon Anderson perfectly in His image, for His purpose. In the coming months, let’s visit Caleb’s Classroom together.