I vividly remember waking up on the morning of December 4, 2008.
Stewart and I had barely slept the night before. The anticipation, the fear, the excitement - all of it kept us awake. The day we had waited for and prayed for had finally come. We were going to welcome our first child into the world that day.
It had been a long road to even get pregnant. In fact, we were told we couldn't have children. Low and behold, two short months after that news, God did what the doctors said couldn't be done. We were expecting a child. And it was an absolute miracle. Little did we know, in the middle of the pregnancy, we would be called back home to Louisiana to pastor the church a block away from our alma mater, buying a house, and would be close to our family when the baby arrived.
So that morning, Stewart and I got up and tried to have a normal morning, but it was impossible. I couldn't eat, of course, because of the C-section I was about to have. We tried to busy ourselves with all the last minute things you do before you head to the hospital - making sure we had every single thing we and the baby could possibly need. We had gone ahead and decorated the house for Christmas in an effort to try and induce labor, but that hadn't worked. So the last thing we did on the way out the door was to hang a stocking by the fireplace. Just weeks before we had finally decided on a name for the baby, but we had not told a single soul what that name was. We didn't want anyone calling the baby by his name before he came. But before we left, I hung his stocking with his name embroidered on it, and we got in the car to go introduce Zachary Charles Holloway to the world.
Today, Zachary is ten. Double digits. The big 1-0. And I can't hardly believe it. The years have absolutely flown by, as everyone said they would. The joy of that first Christmas with Zach is still one of my favorite Christmases ever, but every year since with him has been joyful. Zach has a joy for life like no one else. He lives it to the fullest. He loves to laugh. He loves to have fun. He loves music. He has recently gained a love for football, and his mommy could not be more excited! He loves holidays and birthdays. And he loves his family. Recently, he had to write an essay about who he is as a gifted student, and the first way he described himself was a brother. As I have written about many times, Zach is the perfect big brother to Evan. It is miracle in and of itself how much he loves Evan and truly wants to protect and care for him. He could resent Evan. He could have nothing to do with Evan because of his disabilities. But he loves him fiercely.
But the thing we are most proud of about Zach is his love for other people. At MawMaw's house on Christmas Eve when Zach was about 3, one of the cousins started crying. Zach cried with her. He never could stand anyone to cry around him. Even now, he is a friend to everyone at school and is willing to help them if they are having trouble in class or even some kind of problem on the playground. He is a friend to the kid that no one else likes. That's just who he is. That is the way God made him. And that is a miracle that I hope he keeps all of his life.
Being a 10 year old is a big milestone. A lot of things go along with this age, as I am coming to learn. We are 3 short year from the teen years. We are 6 years away from him driving. And we are just 8 years away from him leaving home for college. It's hard to believe that the tiny little miracle I held for this first time 10 years ago today is on the edge of all of these huge life stages. I wanted him to stay little forever. But now he is almost as tall as me!
This morning in my The Power of a Praying Parent book, this was the prayer I prayed for him:
Stewart and I had barely slept the night before. The anticipation, the fear, the excitement - all of it kept us awake. The day we had waited for and prayed for had finally come. We were going to welcome our first child into the world that day.
It had been a long road to even get pregnant. In fact, we were told we couldn't have children. Low and behold, two short months after that news, God did what the doctors said couldn't be done. We were expecting a child. And it was an absolute miracle. Little did we know, in the middle of the pregnancy, we would be called back home to Louisiana to pastor the church a block away from our alma mater, buying a house, and would be close to our family when the baby arrived.
So that morning, Stewart and I got up and tried to have a normal morning, but it was impossible. I couldn't eat, of course, because of the C-section I was about to have. We tried to busy ourselves with all the last minute things you do before you head to the hospital - making sure we had every single thing we and the baby could possibly need. We had gone ahead and decorated the house for Christmas in an effort to try and induce labor, but that hadn't worked. So the last thing we did on the way out the door was to hang a stocking by the fireplace. Just weeks before we had finally decided on a name for the baby, but we had not told a single soul what that name was. We didn't want anyone calling the baby by his name before he came. But before we left, I hung his stocking with his name embroidered on it, and we got in the car to go introduce Zachary Charles Holloway to the world.
Today, Zachary is ten. Double digits. The big 1-0. And I can't hardly believe it. The years have absolutely flown by, as everyone said they would. The joy of that first Christmas with Zach is still one of my favorite Christmases ever, but every year since with him has been joyful. Zach has a joy for life like no one else. He lives it to the fullest. He loves to laugh. He loves to have fun. He loves music. He has recently gained a love for football, and his mommy could not be more excited! He loves holidays and birthdays. And he loves his family. Recently, he had to write an essay about who he is as a gifted student, and the first way he described himself was a brother. As I have written about many times, Zach is the perfect big brother to Evan. It is miracle in and of itself how much he loves Evan and truly wants to protect and care for him. He could resent Evan. He could have nothing to do with Evan because of his disabilities. But he loves him fiercely.
But the thing we are most proud of about Zach is his love for other people. At MawMaw's house on Christmas Eve when Zach was about 3, one of the cousins started crying. Zach cried with her. He never could stand anyone to cry around him. Even now, he is a friend to everyone at school and is willing to help them if they are having trouble in class or even some kind of problem on the playground. He is a friend to the kid that no one else likes. That's just who he is. That is the way God made him. And that is a miracle that I hope he keeps all of his life.
Being a 10 year old is a big milestone. A lot of things go along with this age, as I am coming to learn. We are 3 short year from the teen years. We are 6 years away from him driving. And we are just 8 years away from him leaving home for college. It's hard to believe that the tiny little miracle I held for this first time 10 years ago today is on the edge of all of these huge life stages. I wanted him to stay little forever. But now he is almost as tall as me!
This morning in my The Power of a Praying Parent book, this was the prayer I prayed for him:
Thank You, Lord, for the precious gift of this child. Because Your Word says that every good gift comes from You, I know that You have given him to me to care for and raise.
Help me to do that. Show me places where I continue to hang on to him and enable me to release him to Your protection, guidance, and counsel.
Help me not to live in fear of possible dangers, but in the joy and peace of knowing that You are in control. I'm grateful that I don't have to rely on the world's unreliable and ever-changing methods of child rearing, but that I can have clear direction from Your Word and wisdom as I pray to You for answers. I rely on You for everything, and this day I trust my child to You and release him into Your hands.*
Happy 10th birthday, Zachary Charles Holloway! Even 10 years later, you are a miracle straight from God!
*Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Parent Book of Prayers, p. 14.
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