For to Us a Child Is Born

I typically don’t write many posts that focus on the happenings in our family. But today I thought I’d make an exception. At 8:03 AM yesterday morning my wife and I had another child. My wife had a Caesarian delivery and is resting at the hospital for a few more days.

This was Brooke’s last C-section. She’s had six of them and is a warrior! I’m so proud of her. And I’m so thankful for God’s gracious protection and providence. We’ve often reflected that if we lived a hundred years ago, or even in many parts of the world today, my wife likely would tragically have died while giving birth to our first child. Now, by God’s grace, we have three boys and three girls . . . and a very noisy house!

My son’s name is Salem Robert Vrbicek. The name Salem comes from the Hebrew word for peace, and it’s also the name of a beloved church we attended during our seminary years. His middle name Robert is my middle name, and also the first name of my father and grandfather.

During a quiet moment at the hospital yesterday while Brooke was sleeping, I held Salem in my arms. It’s amazing how fragile and dependent a three-hour-old child is. Equally amazing to me was considering how our lives, lives that starts so small and vulnerable, will have such huge influences on this world.

I titled this post with an allusion to the familiar Isaiah 9:6 passage we so often reference around Christmas. The verse reads,

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

No, my son will not one day have the government on his shoulder or be a wonderful counselor—at least not in the way that Jesus is these things. However, in that quiet moment I did spend some time praying that one day Salem Robert Vrbicek would come to know the good news story of Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace, and when Salem does, that my boy would be one who helps others also know where true and everlasting peace is found.