Birth and Death

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. a time to be born and a time to die."

Earlier today I had to pick up a package (thanks Pete & Tamara from NJ) in the office of our apartment's concierge. Our concierge is actually 2 people, a married couple of whom the wife is in her last month of pregnancy. She looked great with child, which was about how far along my wife was 12 months ago when in her final month of pregnancy before our youngest arrived.

Two other women in our particular apartment building are also pregnant. For one of them, it will be her first child, who is due anytime this month. For the other, she'll be joining us in the ranks of having 3 kids.

Earlier tonight there was a TV special about the Robert Debré Hospital's children's ward. This hospital is not very far from us. As they showed scenes of a woman giving birth to twins and then nursing them, it brought back memories of our kids' births and being in the delivery room to see them arrive. Seeing my 3 chidren leave my wife's womb and join us are moments that I'll never forget.

At the same time as these 3 women will give birth in 2007, I've also been reminded that some older people whom I have known are no longer among the living on this earth. As one person has said, they "graduated to heaven" in 2006. These include Loretta MacDonald, Nancy Justnes, Burt Bjorkfelt, Janet Burns, Jean Christensen, Grandma Joan Gilbert, Eva Ernst, and John Ritter. Pastor Gene LaFrance is in hospice care in Florida. Barring God's intervention in the next few days, he will likely also "graduate" in the near future.

Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."