Daisy Jane Dill // May 28, 2015

I wrote this in my journal on May 28, 2015 at 8:10pm in a hospital room while my wife and baby slept soundly near me. It was the day my daughter, my first child, was born. This entry was written in ink and polished with tears.

Today, at 8:40am, Daisy Jane Dill was born at a healthy and vibrant 7.5lbs and 19.5 inches.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Daisy Jane.

There are innumerable things I could write about at this moment. Things like the labor, the delivery, the first sight and touches, my announcement of gender and name to the family waiting anxiously in the lobby, the first-time family meet-ups, and much more. I, no doubt, will write about these things in the near future, but not now. Now is the time for one thing: worship.

My heavenly Father, I praise you because you answered every single prayer we offered to you. Thank you for bringing Chawna into labor before having to be induced. Thank you for keeping Daisy’s little heart going when things started getting tough for her. Thank you for keeping the meconium out of her lungs. Thank you for not letting the umbilical cord wrap too tightly around her neck as she was being delivered. Thank you for comforting this weeping father in the hallways of the hospital. Thank you for hearing my prayers and for letting me know you were hearing my prayers. Thank you for keeping Chawna strong and healthy through it all.

Praise you for the grace of this beautiful hospital and the excellent staff, nurses, and doctors. Thank you for the minds you’ve given them. Thank you for the technology they’ve used to bring Daisy into this world safely. Thank you for the 24 hour care they’re giving us in our first few days of parenthood.

Praise you for the energy to take it all in.

Praise you for the eyes to take it all in.

Praise you for a healthy mama. Not only that, but a valiant mother. My God, watching Your daughter give birth to my daughter was astounding. The strength. The bravery. The open ears she had to listen closely to the doctors and nurses amidst the pain. The unquitting spirit. The toughness. Oh how the Fall has corrupted child-birthing, yet how Your grace shines forth through it all. Bless your daughter, my sister and my bride. She did well. I am amazed by her.

Praise you for the church that no doubt covered this in prayer. Surely Daisy was delivered by the hands of Dr. Miller and the prayers of Your people.

Praise you for our family who is always there and ready to serve us in the greatest and smallest of ways (thanks for the batteries, Chad).

And Father, praise you for Daisy Jane. May she live to know you, love you, and praise you all the days of her life here and forevermore.

Praise you Father that, as I write this last sentence, I do so to the sound of two beautiful sleeping girls breathing peacefully in the darkness.  Thank you for letting me be a father too. May I, in my words and deeds, help my girls see you, know you, love you, and praise you.

Amen.