Living the Transformed Life
ithout a doubt, birth of a child is the most joyful moment for a parent. Rubbing the smooth back of a capsule of hope, dreams and the future, is an out of this world experience. I cannot find enough words to describe the elation of soothing the little bundle of joy with slight hum and rocking, enwrapped in the loving arms of a dad or mom. The continual spurts of whirring or whining, at first, seem like a sudden burst of vocal genius in an opera. Such is the panorama of a newborn in the horizons of family life.
A few months ago, a beautiful baby boy was added to our family, Channiel. For the first time, I was present when my kid was born. I had never experienced the emotion of holding a newly born baby before; I only met my first-born son, Chesed, when he was five months old at Los Angeles International Airport. There are not enough words in all the languages that can fully express what it feels like. What made me savor each moment?
Sleepless Nights
I am a graduate student, so time is vital in everything I do. God blessed me with a gracious wife who understands that. She sacrifices her time, just to make sure I have enough time for my studies. However, with the birth of Aka, she too needed time to rest and refresh. The first few weeks, the bundle of joy became the agent of fatigue. My wife was sapped all strength, from breastfeeding, cleaning the house, watching the kids and as if the housework was not enough, school work. She was doubling as a full time homemaker and a college student. On my end, I was carrying out my research, writing a Christian book and academic book chapters and working at my college, let alone being a husband and trying to support my wife in everything she does. We had a lot on our plate.
The pressure of being a student, a parent and a spouse caught up with us and nearly drowned us in regret, guilt and unfounded disputes. Each morning, I would leave home for school after helping with dishes, and cleaning the house or putting the baby back to sleep. Instead of engaging in my studies, I was paralyzed by procrastination, failing to plan my work or even carrying out the work I was supposed to do. Social networks caught up my idleness and squandered my time prodigally. I became obsessed with finishing my new book, increasing traffic to my blog and the number of followers to my twitter account. I was distracted and demotivated.
Redeem the Time
A few days ago, as I lay Aka in his