“He has the hiccups”, Melissa said as she grinned from ear to ear. We were sitting in my office just chatting as she stopped mid sentence to motion me over to feel her tummy. I knelt by her chair and gently placed my hand on her ever-growing belly and waited. Bump–Bump–Bump…. there it was! Caleb’s rhythmic pulse could be felt though all the layers of her maternity-wear. A warmth grew around my heart as I envisioned our little one inside hiccuping.

We sat there for a couple minutes just to take in the wonder of it all. The thought that we are the parents and caregivers of this little person is so overwhelming at times that it seems all too surreal. But in moments like these I feel connected to our son in a way I could never describe with words. Words fail to express the depth of the connection and the love I already feel for this little person.  When he moves and we can both feel him, I feel as if my whole focus in life is narrowed like a laser beam on my wife and my son - as if we were the only three people in the universe along with the Lord. You have probably heard people say (or even experienced for yourself) how a moment in time can seem to pause and last for an eternity. Well, just as I had taken in my breath and was preparing to exhale, time ground to a halt. It was almost as if I could observe myself from a third-person perspective as I watched the three of us huddle together enjoying the miracle of that moment – the miracle of hiccups. Maybe I was getting just a glimpse of what Father God sees – how he smiles as he pours out his heart into ours so that our love expands for this little person. Maybe, for just a moment, I saw through the eyes of Jesus – tender, gentle, all-knowing, all-caring, all loving.  As the moment hung in space and time, I thanked Him. I thanked him for all that Christ did for us on the cross – how my life was changed forever by his grace and his love. I thanked him for bringing Melissa into my life because I could never imagine a more wonderful person to share this miracle with – to share my life and my soul with – the woman who embodies the most perfect wife, tailor made for me by His loving hands. I thanked him for our unborn son Caleb, who will be an and already is an incredible blessing. I realized that God himself deemed us worthy to give us an eternal gift. He has already given us everything by giving us the life of his Son, but now, as the moment hangs in the air in silence, he gave me a son!

With a soft sigh, I exhaled. What seemed like an eternal moment came to a beautiful but bitter-sweet end as I realized that I couldn’t exist in that moment forever. As the rhythmic bumping of Caleb’s hiccups began again, it came to me. I realized that so often as adults, we lose sight of what is truly beautiful in this world. When we get the hiccups, it’s an annoyance – even irritating. And yet, in the body of a little child it is so beautiful. A child’s hiccups are full of life! Why do we as adults choose to lose sight of all the wonderful things that God has given us. When Jesus had the little children come to him, his disciples tried to turn them away because they probably thought “The Master has more important things to do than deal with these annoying kids!” But what did Jesus do? He opened his arms and with a smile that warmed up the farthest reaches of the cold universe he said “Let the children come to me!” Jesus then went on to say that we should all have the faith and wide-eyed wonder of a little child. How easy it is for us to “grow up” and forget to look at our world with the eyes of a child. In that moment, for just an instant, I saw through the eyes of a little child. I saw the wonder in something as simple as – well, hiccups.