I have several essays that I have saved that were done before I started blogging in earnest. I thought that I should include some of them in this blog before they get lost in the shuffle.  Here is the first one: It was composed in 2005.

I Got To Hold a Baby Today: A Reflection of 12 Hours of Ministry

(Note: This series of ministry events began unfolding on a Friday morning, around 11:30, and were completed around 11:30 the evening of the same day.)

I got to hold a baby today…you know it is one of those things that preachers get to do… We go to the hospital to pray for the newborn. We go and pray with the parents at such a joyful time. And sometimes, we enjoy the fringe benefit of holding God’s new and precious gift.
I got to hold a baby today…
While I was rocking a little boy who was only hours old in my arms, another mother of a newborn from my church was sobbing quietly down the hall. Her baby was about to be transported to the nearby children’s hospital. We are not sure what is wrong, says the pediatrician….I prayed with that family too.
I got to hold a baby today…

And only hours after enjoying that ultimate fringe benefit of ministry, I was at the bedside, or should I say cribside of the little guy who was taken to the children’s hospital. I was only one there since his mother had not been dismissed from the hospital where he was born. Hold his pacifier in his mouth, the nurse says. He won’t be able to eat for a few days, only iv fluids for now… Can he feel hunger, I ask? Oh yes, he feels hunger! But only iv fluids for now.

We are not sure what is wrong, says the neonatologist…
I got to hold a baby today…
While I held the pacifier with great diligence, another couple’s hearts were breaking in a nearby NICU cubicle. I am sorry, she didn’t make it, says the neonatologist… They called the hospital chaplain. He gently led them through the next mind boggling, emotionally wrenching minutes of their life. I walked around the corner of the waiting room to give them so privacy, so he could gather their family for a group prayer. And later I happened to follow them to the parking garage. They were empty handed, except for a video camera, that captured the last few minutes of joy that they will experience for some time. They got in their car, and drove off…. I drove off in mine. We went our separate ways forever, but for a few moments, unbeknownst to each other, we shared some tears together.
I got to hold a baby today…
My little friend in the hospital has been dismissed. They know what was wrong now! He can feel hunger, and he can sense satisfaction from eating now…He stared me down with the most beautiful eyes.
I got hold a baby today….

Only hours before I held that pacifier in his mouth, I had to intrude on the privacy of a perfect stranger. She is 79 years old…I was given the grim duty by the Sheriff’s department of telling her that her 47 year old son had taken his own life. She was doing everything she could to help him get on his feet, she said. I wondered what was wrong, as she reflected on his 47 years…I wondered how it must feel to lose one whom you took home from the hospital so many years ago. I wonder if the preacher held him, and prayed for him, before he went home.
I got to hold a baby today.
You know it is one those things that preachers get to do