Life – Page 2 – BRIAN HIMES

I Wish I Could Unsee What I Saw

I wish I could unsee what I saw this morning on Facebook.

I saw a photo that disturbed me to my core.

I wasn’t sure what I was seeing at first, so I had to look a second time to confirm.

My initial observation was correct. It was exactly what I thought.

Perhaps, I’m a little sensitive. Maybe it says something about me and my faith. Maybe I need to work on changing my perspective.

I understand why the photo was posted. And, I support the decision to post it.

I understand that it can be viewed in a celebratory light.

I understand that it can have a positive message.

But, it just makes me want to crawl into a corner and bawl my eyes out.

It makes me want to retreat.

It makes me… I don’t even have words.

The photo represents one of my worst nightmares.

And, I don’t know how to deal with it.

As a Christian, I’m a little embarrassed.

I should have a handle on it. But, I don’t.

I’m a mess.

Listening

Dad Life

Listening can be tough.

It’s easy to forget that.

That’s why we have two-year-olds. They are God’s not-so-gentle reminder.

We all have our own agendas, and listening to someone else gets in the way. The message, or the messenger, doesn’t matter. We want to do our own thing.

How do we get past this?

With my two-year-old, I’ve been trying to remove him from distraction by physically taking him to another location to sit and talk face to face.

I’ve had mixed results, but I think a similar practice could help us adults.
I think this is why people have “spiritual” experiences on mountaintops. They remove themselves from the day to day and are able to find themselves, or something bigger, in the quiet.

It’s just hard to find the time.

I know I can’t take a trip to the mountains every week. With two kids, a wife and dog it’s hard to find any alone time. But, I think that’s what we need. It’s what we probably lack most as a culture.

We need time alone.

We need time to listen.

We need time to recharge.

Where will you find the time?

A Quid Pro Quo

Dad Life

We have a great church family.

They have been preparing meals for us since Daniel’s arrival.

It’s been a huge help to not have to think about dinner. But, something occurred to me yesterday. Maybe there’s something more to this meal prep.

Maybe it’s not really about helping us out.

Maybe it’s just about seeing the baby.

You see, preparing food gives you a first class ticket into our home where you can see and possibly hold the baby.

I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before. It’s an obvious ploy.*

I mean, would you really prepare a meal for someone just out of the goodness of your heart? Come on. Who’s that nice?

I’m glad I finally figured it out. Now we can call it what it really is: a quid pro quo. We give you access to the baby, you give us food. It’s that simple.

Now, I wonder if there’s a way to keep this free food thing going…

Do we need to have another baby?

*This is just a joke. I know people want to help out of the goodness of their hearts. A big thank you to everyone who has provided meals. We love you.

Daniel Harrison

Dad Life

I am currently sitting on my couch/bed at the hospital listening to the latest release from Hillsong United while holding this little miracle.

To be perfectly honest, I had a hard time believing this day would come, until it actually did.

Last July Erin and I lost a baby through miscarriage. While this pregnancy has been nothing less than ordinary, the experience of losing a baby made it hard to believe that this day would come.

And yet, it did. Daniel Harrison Himes was born at 12:06 AM on May 27th. And I can’t imagine life without him.

Thank you Lord for this amazing miracle.