Oh Danny Boy, we love you so.

On Friday, March 24 we welcomed Daniel James Hamoud into the world.  He arrived earlier than his due date predicted but still managed to weigh in at a fine 7 pounds. Ruth is doing great but Danny has needed a little more support.  He developed a condition called Pneumothorax, which effectively led him to suffer a collapsed right lung.  He’s in NICU in order to keep his status stable- he needs oxygen, antibiotics for infection, and IV nourishment to avoid fatigue from feeding- and will be there until his body is in shape to join us at home. 

It has naturally been frustrating to once again miss out on the experience of a natural birth and all of its newborn moments, and it’s even more frustrating to once again see our helpless child kept beyond our reach in a convoluted tangle of tubing and wiring.  After Yasmine’s birth I wrote about the mixed emotions of a “necessary separation,” and passing through this valley once before made us stronger for this next passage.  Even so, it’s not the way anyone wishes to welcome a child into this world.

More than the frustration, however, is the acknowledgement of blessing and fortune we receive.  Medical skills, technology and knowledge have given our children chances during the early moments of their emergent lives in ways that would not have been possible some years ago and are regrettably not available to countless people around the world.  Marginalization too often causes life to be lost nearly as soon as it shows its face.  Recognizing this makes us ever thankful for the privileged situation we enjoy in our moments of need.  At the end of the day it is thankfulness that will rule our hearts.

***

Births are naturally an emotional experience for all parents, and the births of our two children have invariably opened our eyes to the thin line drawn in this world between life and death.  We have needed to surrender our children into the providential hands of God’s mercy as soon as they’ve entered our hands, and we realize that this is where they always have been and ever shall remain.  It is indeed a comforting truth.  Greater still is the truth that the amazing, saving grace of God shown in Jesus Christ means that the line between life and death is but a temporary barrier that will someday be swallowed by the victory of eternal life.  It transforms everything for us as a mother and a father to embrace our children knowing with certainty that we have the ultimate hope of being forever united in God’s heavenly, everlasting kingdom.

***

Daniel was an easy name to settle on for our boy.  Daniel of the Bible is model of righteousness, godliness and faithfulness, Daniels are included among our meaningful family members and friends, and Dany is a familiar name across Lebanon.  In all senses it felt like a good call.  Naturally the popular folk tune “Oh Danny Boy” was bound to take on a special significance as we added a Danny to our number, and that significance seems to have arrived sooner than expected.  As we return to the familiar things of home with our little boy still kept away, we find that the words expressing our heart have already been sung:

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,—
Oh Danny boy, Oh Danny Boy, I love you so!