Sizes

  Would you believe that there aren't any more size updates?  For months we've gone from fruit to fruit, or from strange object to strange object, but here, at 37 weeks, we've reached the end!  That means little Marko Ramius (just go watch The Hunt for Red October.  Everything will be better then.) is about as big as he is going to be this side of the womb!  (cue Rachel exhaling a sigh of relief...)

  According to this website, little Marko is about the size of the electric motor in the 2008 Tesla Roadster.  It does 0-60 in under 4.0 seconds, but would probably be a lot harder to deliver than a baby.  I'd imagine, anyway.  What do I know about labor?  Or electric motors on cars that cost more than $100k?


  In something that's a little easier to imagine, he's about the size of a watermelon.  He's probably about 20 inches long, and is considered full term, meaning that he's about as ready for life as he's ever going to be.  (are any of us truly ready?  I'm barely ready for today, and I've had almost 30 years of practice!)

  Apparently, during birth the baby will produce more stress hormones than at any other time in his life.  Clearly, they've never measured the stress hormones on a minister in the midst of the call process.  Or on someone about to take their ordination exams on a laptop that keeps crashing to make up for the fact that they've had mono for the last two months.  Not that any of that would be stressful...

  It's easy to forget about how stressful this will be for little Marko.  He's been isolated in a fluid environment for nine months, with the sound of Rachel's heartbeat to keep him company.  Every jostle is softened by the water surrounding him.  He has been prayed for by a great cloud of witnesses, and we have done everything possible to make this period of his life as comfortable as possible.  In this brief window, we have control over his safety and security.

  In a few weeks, he'll come rushing into a bright, loud world, and his world will be completely transformed.  Everything will be new, and despite our efforts to console him, he'll have to deal with monumental changes to every aspect of life.  Only the prayers and our love will continue.  (And perhaps my desires for absurdly fast sports cars)  We can no longer protect and shield him from every threat.  All we can do is love him for who he is and offer our hearts to support him on his journey, in all things pointing him to the greatest love the world has ever known in Christ.

  Perhaps it's also a reminder for us--the single most stressful moment of our lives happened on the day of our births.  Everything else pales in comparison to that miraculous event.  It is a miracle that we are alive, that we have survived the journey from womb to the world, and may we live in endless gratitude for each moment, allowing some of the stress to dissipate as we keep things in perspective, grateful for the chance to experience one more day on this planet, to drink in the beauty and splendor of life, and give thanks to our Creator for the blessing of our sustained existence.