Sometimes Holy ground looks like the closet of a hospital room. Our first grandson was born on July 11, 2022 at 5:11am. Silas Mark Brewer is a perfect gift from God that came into this world weighing a perfect 9lbs. He is strong and handsome, and did I mention perfect?
Silas made his way into this world with the hard labor of his mama, strong support of his daddy, and gifted and talented presence of midwife, Katrina.
I got a text from Kole announcing Silas Mark was born!!! We were thanking the Lord and deciding how to hold ourselves in check to give the new parents and baby some bonding time before we headed to meet our new grandson and congratulate the new parents.
Silence Can Be Deafening
Following the initial announcement text, a few fun texts were exchanged. Kole (new daddy) telling his sister Charsie that she would need to change her birthday because Silas Mark now owned July 11 and she could choose the 10th or 12th but the 11th (her birthday for 25 years) would need to be changed.
Then, there was silence and we waited and knew something didn’t feel right. The silence was deafening.
Next communication was a phone call from Kole. Rachel, was headed from midwife birthing suite to the hospital in an ambulance and him and Silas and Kayla (their friend and doula) were meeting her there. There was no time for questions or answers, just facts and action.
Thanking and Begging God in Silent Breath
I headed to the hospital immediately. I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, trying to understand what to do, and eventually found myself holding my perfect grandson in the closet of a hospital room looking at this perfect gift from God. I was silently thanking God for this newborn life, and begging the Lord to protect the life of his Mommy, and protect the heart of his Daddy.
It was holy ground and a holy moment to look at the perfect and peaceful newborn and hear the moans of pain and suffering in the same space. Standing in that tension, in that space between pain and peace, gratitude and petition, fear and joy, suffering and safety, were all present in one moment in one space.
Hearing and Seeing Opposite Things
I believe that space, in between, seeing one thing and hearing another; feeling it all at once, is Holy Ground. We can’t find it, even if we are looking, most times, we just find ourselves in it when God puts us there. I stood in the closet on Holy ground, feeling the tension of seeing God’s beautiful gift of life peacefully wrapped in my arms and hearing the painful sounds of a mother, a daughter, and wife struggling to get through and hold on, longing to hold the life she just brought into this world.
Holy Ground is Found in the Tension of Peace and Pain
Holy ground is in the tension of peace and pain. Grace, flows in peace and grace floods through pain and swirls in the tension of both peace and pain. This place is Holy Ground and this is where we stand in His presence.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and his mercies are new every morning. He showed his great love and mercy once again on July 11, 2022 to this whole family. This is just the beginning for this Brewer party of three! They are all doing great!
