Wow. As I'm laying here in Room N202 of the pediatric wing of the hospital with my 7 week old baby boy this evening, I'm blown away by something I've never thought about before (thanks to a link to a sermon left by one of you on this blog!):
Jesus himself was adopted!
Okay, hold on. I know, I know. I should probably fill you all in first on what's happened and why I'm here in the hospital with Jameson in the first place before I get to that.
So, we had a wonderful Christmas. We traveled to South Carolina to spend time with Marc's family, and came back here to enjoy a quiet Christmas morning as a family of FOUR. (heavenly, I must say.) But, when you have over 20 family members of all ages in close proximity during cold and flu season, chances are you'll come back with more than just presents...
So judging from the cough and congestion from my dear husband and precious four year old daughter and my one-and-a-half month old son, it appears we have passed around more than just lots of kisses to our sweet baby once again...
Yep. Same drill as a few weeks ago. Ugh. I know. Gunk in the nose, throat, and chest. Trouble breathing. Not eating much. This time was worse since he was running a fever. So that precipitated a middle-of-the-night trip to the ER. Once again, Marc packed him up and made the 2am pilgrimage (great dad.) while I stayed with Caroline until she woke up and we could join the boys at the hospital.
And of course once you're at the hospital, all sorts of tests have to be run. For a baby of his age, running a fever is no laughing matter.
So they admitted him. For at least tonight to observe him, and possibly tomorrow. (though my fingers are crossed we can go home tomorrow...) Apparently, it's typical protocol in pediatrics when there's a fever, I'm learning.
Thankfully, all the tests have turned up negative:
no RSV.
no pneumonia.
no flu.
no urinary tract infection.
no meningitis, etc. etc.
They are just waiting on a few cultures to come back to make sure there is no bacterial infection, though they are convinced it's just viral. Better to play it safe, I suppose. (I will spare you all my it's-the-day-after-Christmas-and-I-don't-want-to-be-in-the-hospital whining... I really have mixed emotions about being here.)
Nevertheless, here he is. Sleeping oh so peacefully next to me now in nothing but a diaper, a hospital bracelet around his tiny ankle, and a little IV line taped onto his arm for the times when they need to administer fluids or medication. Poor little one. My heart breaks for him. He's gone completely hoarse, too, so his crying is so pitiful.
(Someone please tell me when cold and flu season ends, because I want a countdown NOW.)
Good news is his fever has dropped throughout the day, though, and he hasn't needed any Tylenol for the last six hours. Hopefully he is on the mend now.
But I've had a few quiet hours alone with him that I wouldn't take away. Marc went home to catch some sleep before he takes the night shift tonight and a wonderful friend took Caroline to her house for the afternoon (you are a life-saver, Laura!). I've had a sweet afternoon to hold my baby boy, tell the nurses and doctor all about both of my children's adoption stories (we're only one of two patients on the floor today, so they had time...), and after listening to a sermon online, I really am mulling over this thought that has never occurred to me before:
Jesus himself was adopted!
Jesus was the son of David! I had never thought about the logistics of His lineage, but it wasn't that way through birth. No, Jesus' family tree traces back through Joseph's lineage. It wasn't through a bloodline that God saw fit to redeem His people: it was through adoption! (how beautiful is that?!?)
God saw a messed up, sloppy bunch of sinners (see his lineage in Matthew 1) and said, That's the family from which my perfect Son, the Redeemer, will come. God wasn't ashamed for Jesus' ancestry to carry such tainting of sin. Even from his birth, He was born of sinners in order to die for sinners.
God called Joseph to adopt Jesus.
To raise a child that didn't have his nose or his smile.
To name him and make him a legal heir.
And through this, all the prophecies of the savior coming through the line of Abraham and David would be fulfilled...
through adoption!
Oh my goodness, that is so exciting to me.
And then I think about Joseph's fear, as he even contemplated leaving Mary at the news of her pregnancy. As an adoptive mom myself, I get it! Adopting a child that is not your own carries risk. And fear. As excited as I was for both of my children to come home with me, there were many natural fears in my heart, too. But Joseph did not let his fear override the Lord's call upon him. And don't you know he must have been the happiest dad in the world. (I mean, come on. He got the kid who never sinned! ha!)
I'm simply astonished. The Eternal Son of God was adopted into Joseph's family! Even through Christ's birth, God was displaying how WE, too, must also be born again--adopted-- into the family of God. None of us are in the Covenant through a birth. It's through adoption.
My children have a Savior who can understand them even more than I imagined.
Thank you, God.
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