February 24, 2007

• Happy Birthday, Rachel!

  Twenty-nine years ago on a very cold snowy night, I got a phone call at two in the morning from a friend in the nearby town.  “Ruth’s in labor and it’s time to come,” Terry informed me.

  My half-asleep response was, “Are you crazy?”  By the time I made it back to bed, the freezing cold floor had waken me enough to realize what had just been said.   Oh, my gosh, it’s time!!  We had been waiting months for this baby.  Her mother and I became friends in the fall when she moved in with our friend Terry. All during the winter Nick and I hauled firewood down frozen mountain roads and up the dangerous Norwood Hill where the road clung to the canyon wall to make sure these two single mothers would be warm for the next week.  So now the long awaited baby was coming.

  I quickly dressed in long johns, double socks, and a warm sweater. I topped it off with a thick down jacket, gloves, and a hat.  In my haste to get the car started, I managed to kill the battery.  So Nick had to wake up also, get dressed and start his work truck to give me a jump. I made the shivering half-hour drive on an empty road with a million crystal stars shining from the clear black sky.  I drove up to the old farmhouse and flew through the door.  Inside, everyone was quiet and tired, resting between contractions, but I was adrenaline-wired. It took a while for me to settle.  Slowly the night crept on.  We walked back and forth across the long kitchen/dining room.  We stoked the fire and drank tea, and we waited and waited.

  “What if it’s a boy and not a girl?”  I asked.
  “Then he’ll be named Rachel,” she responded.
  “Oh, come on!”
  “No, really.  This is Rachel!”

  The sun rose grey, then golden. Activity moved to the bedroom as the labor intensified.  I sat on her left and Terry on her right. The doctor waited quietly.  Like a drill sargeant, I commanded her to breathe slowly and keep her eyes open.  Terry stroked her hand and cooed gentle words. When it became apparent the baby was actually coming, I felt a prompting from God. “Go, wash up quickly.  You will be the first to hold this baby, and she will be very special to you.”  I scrambled off the bed and raced to the bathroom.  I returned and grabbed the sterilized blanket.  Only moments later Rachel arrived admidst cheering, dancing, and crying.  The doctor tied and cut the cord, picked her up and handed her to me.  Immediately, I took her to her mom, but I remembered that promise. 

  Now all these years later, she is still very special to me.  She is a daughter of my heart, and her mother is a sister to me.  We’ve been through many experiences together and not all were pleasant or easy, but we have remained faithful to the friendship that God began and has protected, sometimes even from us.

  So, Happy Birthday, Rachel!! 
  Thanks for coming into my world and being such an important part of my life. 

  Ruth, thanks for sharing your precious daughter and yourself with us. 

  This past Christmas we celebrated the birth of our new grandson together.

  

  • 8:33 pm
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