B. When the Jayhawks started falling apart, he just couldn' t take it.
Is BitterSweetLife becoming a 'baby blog?' (We sense the panic in your voice.) No, but we can see why you’re asking.
Aidan is already getting attention from the ladies.
Ever since Tuesday, when our son Aidan arrived a month early (weighing only 4 pounds, 8 ounces), I’ve been understandably preoccupied with that dreaded blogger category, ‘baby news.’ (While we’re on the topic, check out the best ‘baby blog’ I’ve come across, Marks on a Wall, maintained by little Gavin, the son of my friend Charles.)
Also, for those just joining us, here are the progressive Aidan updates I’ve posted, oldest first:
Infantile Remarks and Spiritual Epiphany
Hidden Meaning for Pain
Baby Relief
When Babies Attack
Under the Knife
Baby Facts
Baby Gets a Name
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What about Bittersweetness?
The infatuation with baby news will continue in various forms for the rest of my life, I’m told, but the content of this blog will not directly reflect that. However, Aidan's appearance gives me a chance to emphasize the fact that 'theology,' one of the central topics here (sort of), must be fused with life if it is to be valid. Theology must be, in an fundamental sense, popular—that is, livable, geared for application.
What I’m saying is, Aidan will be a catalyst for more spiritual truth discussion, more divine insight into living, and I’ll unabashedly write Aidan stories to that end.
Of course, it should also go without saying that I’ll write Aidan stories for the same reason I write KU and Lindsay and Coffee stories. Because I like Aidan—and I like stories. No great surprises there.
Now, as a token of good faith to bittersweet readers, I'd like to make the following remark, partly in response to my friend (and theological sparring partner) Alexys, who noted that "Many happy moments are in store. See, I told you life is sweet, forget the bitter, at least for now. Good job."
Quick observation: Aidan's arrival has been undeniably bittersweet.
What? Why not total, 100% sweetness? Can't you sacrifice a little? Don't tell me you're already making a dig at little Aidan?! You monster.
Actually, Aidan's arrival is bittersweet for the simple reason that he arrived on earth. In a perfect world, he wouldn't have been born prematurely with low blood sugar, he wouldn't be an 'at risk' baby, and Lindsay wouldn't have needed to have an operation to get the little fellow out.
Principles must be maintained, even in the face of celebration. Therefore, as ecstatic as Lindsay and I are over our son, I'm asserting all the more that life is bittersweet. Aidan's arrival would be altogether joyous only in a world where Christ's will was perfectly carried out!
No matter how happy you are, bittersweetness is a fact. Otherwise you might make the mistake of thinking wrongly that heaven had already arrived.
4 comments:
Although Aidan had a dramatic entrance, don't you think in a sense that heaven has arrived in him? Don't you and your wife feel overcome with joy when you hold such a miracle? Aren't you amazed at what God has brought you? Doesn't your heart fill with the deepest of love when you think of how he came into the world?
As he grows, so will your joy and devotion to God and the life cycle.
Let's celebrate the magnificence of Christ's gift. By the way, I love the name Aidan, alas I am gravely disappointed that his middle is not Alexys; it's only right don't you think? :)
Wishing you and your wife the best in love and grace.
Oh, post whatever you want. There's nothing like kids to bring supreme clarity to life. As for the "bittersweetness," I remember thinking in the middle of the joy I felt with the birth of each of mine, "Wow. I just brought a new, eternal soul into the world. I'm responsible for that."
You'll do well, I'm sure.
Cheers.
Ariel - parenthood will bring a new angle to your approach on faith discussions. I look forward to your dissertations regarding God parenting us through your experiences parenting your son.
Thanks for the back-up, guys. I feel like I have a mandate to post whatever I want. :)
Alexys, Aidan is the bringer of all kinds of good things, but to say he's a piece of heaven is simply a confusion of terms. I might as well say the same thing about my wife, about our canary, about the great basketball game I played last week. "Heaven" could be a wholesale adjective.
Aren't you amazed at what God has brought you? Doesn't your heart fill with the deepest of love when you think of how he came into the world?
Absolutely. But he's still not a piece of heaven. That would make him semi-divine at the very least, and while Aidan's a cute little rascal, he's definitely no saint.
"Heaven" gets 'saved' for very specific uses in the Christian context. We can't afford to be slippery with our language.
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