more work outside the womb

Our gallon of milk has been in the fridge longer than Elliot Payne has been breathing in this house.

Of course the milk has soured a bit and our Elliot is only getting sweeter.
I think.
He is a mountain of joy by day and a monster by night. He is positively nocturnal and has no awareness of his parents' desire to sleep when the western sun sets. We didn't believe those veteran parents who told us to expect this massive sleep deprivation.

Elliot lost his belly button cord today. I can't believe the miracle of sustenance his mama provided him via the umbilical cord during the fun in the womb. Now there is more work outside the womb to keep him nourished, warm, clean and secure since he took the ride down the birth canal on May 8. Life was so easy 16 days ago. And after 16 months of marriage sans offspring, our household will never be the same. Elliot is on loan to us and we want to wisely steward his life till death. Ours or his. We ought not become obsessed and worried about or possessive toward our son. We want a Christ-centered home and not an Elliot-centered or anxiety-centered home.
So hard to do.
I frequently trust God as much as Elliot trusts us, his parents. Very little. Elliot does not trust his parents to be there to feed him, care for and comfort him and to never leave him. I can see myself in Elliot. As he is toward me, so I am toward God the Father. I want to trust Him with all my heart. I want Elliot to trust us. But he panics, he screams, he clenches his little fists and his entire head and body turn red as bricks. He can be so angry and scared even with his parents attentively and compassionately at his side. I am like Elliot. And as our good friend Jen says, he is a manipulator and he is a sinner. Elliot is like his dad.
We love him.
So marriage has new challenges and new opportunities. May child-rearing be as sanctifying as child-birthing was.
Thank you Lord for my wife. I live with an excellent wife. I live with a tremendously great mother.
Thank you Lord for being our Father. A good, perfect-loving, trustworthy, forgiving and strong father.
Apart from Him, I can do nothing.