Well as I sit in the hospital room watching my beautiful wife and new son fall asleep I wanted to jot down some of the details from the past 24 hours. We checked into the hospital last night at about 8:30 for an induction that was to begin early this morning. Around 10:30 Jen received her epidural and the first scare took place. The first epidural hit a blood vessel and the anestheseologist said she would only try it one more time and if it didn't work Jen would have to go with no drugs. It managed to work that time. Jen progressed at a rapid pace and by 11:30 was ready to push but her doctor was in surgery. We were both worried and concerned, but by 11:45 he made it and after a few short minutes Athan had arrived!
Athan weighed 7 pounds and 2 ounces, which wasn't bad for a baby three weeks premature. He was 20 inches long and had a head full of black hair (which fits him well with his Greek name!) In many ways he reminds me a lot of Hudson in the face, but I'm sure over the next few weeks he'll begin to have his own look. As for now we are so very humbled by God's grace. After last years loss I feel so very blessed to have a baby boy to hold and even change!
Athan's name is a bit unique, but something we spent time praying about and researching. I had always liked the idea of naming my children after great men or women of God particularly in Church History. I wanted to be able to tell my kids that they were named after a great man or woman of the Lord and my prayer is they would imitate such devotion in their own lives. My favorite two names were Hudson and Eliot. When I found out we would have another little boy I didn't have many ideas.
Years ago I had heard of a story about a young man named Athanasius, who managed to sway the bishops of the Byzantine Empire from following the newest fad and unbiblical teaching of Arianism, and instead to accept orthodoxy. He did so through his great writings on the Incarnation of Christ as the central tenet of our faith. Its possible he was even the author of the Nicene Creed, and all of this he did before the age of 28! From the time he was 30 until his death he served as the bishop of the great city of Alexandria as he pastored the cities' churches. He was banished five different times, his life was threatened by emperors and even assassins and still he held faithfully to the Bible's teachings on Christ's incarnation.
A man who stood for truth in the face of persecution, who studied diligently, and shepherded wisely was surely someone worthy to be an example not only to me, but to all believers. My prayer is that Athan would come to know the Lord early, and model these habits of Athanasius in his own lifetime.
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