A Father’s Joy

My son Nick and his wife Meg endured the loss of two children early in their marriage. They welcomed then wept over Luke and Elizabeth.

Nick and Meg submitted their suffering to Jesus, who over time turned life-defying losses into life-defining ones. As pastor and wife, perhaps they serve others better now.

Annette and I wondered what was next for them as a family, and after a year or so we were kindly asked to stop asking. Nick and Meg needed to heal, which included a break from considering and discussing the prospect of kids. Smart.

We gave thanks from our depths on Thanksgiving of ’20 when Nick and Meg told us they were planning to begin adoption proceedings. Spoiler-alert: the baby didn’t arrive by Christmas. Apparently, most adoptions take longer than reforms in the Catholic Church. Nick and Meg had only just begun…

On February 28th of this year a generous young woman from Cheyenne, Wyoming chose Nick and Meg as the best match for her baby girl, still a month from delivery. Close yet so far—mothers in Wyoming can rescind the offer up to the point of leaving the hospital. We waited with expectancy and feeble detachment.

At 2am on Saturday, March 19th Annette woke me up to announce the birth of Anna Collins Comiskey. Good sign: Nick and Meg received her in their arms then waited for the crucial day or two 'til the birth mother’s hospital exit. All good. Then another wait in Cheyenne with Anna to square state requirements.

I felt joy for Nick and sympathy for our common impatience: he has a new senior pastorate that demands a lot. Hanging out indefinitely in a strange town (no longer a rollicking center of the 19th century ‘west’) with a sleeping infant while figuring out what North Carolina requires of them sounded like hell. He did great, better than I would have.

It was fun to learn how Anna was born on St. Joseph’s Feast Day. New Dad had to act a little like ol’ Joe (always pictured as being just shy of 92-years-old) who led his family though repeated difficulties in Bethlehem, Egypt, and Jerusalem. Nick led his family well and is now happily adjusting with Meg to parenting Anna in Raleigh.

This Easter, Nick’s house and heart are full. Jesus is risen, and He raises us from grief to gratitude.