Yesterday I experienced one of the greatest events of my life. I held in my arms my first grandchild, a granddaughter. I look forward in anticipation to many more, God willing.
As we awaited her birth, I had time to reflect on the amazing event to come. I wondered if Eloise would ever know how much she was loved and anticipated by me, my wife, our children, friends, and extended family.
She was born at 6:47 AM into a large, extended family. She was born into the midst of two loving parents, four anxious grandparents, 17 aunts and uncles, and she already has numerous cousins on her mother’s side of the family. This doesn’t even account for the many “great” grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! Add to that many, many friends of ours and others.
This tiny, less than 6 lb., baby girl was brought forth into a world surrounded by so much love it’s hard to even imagine.
It made me wonder if my own children knew that they too were loved (and are loved) beyond their imagining. That they too were anticipated and longed for by us, our family, and friends in the same way. It made me pause and recognize that I too was loved and anticipated more than I could imagine.
As I age, I ponder death more frequently. My father has passed on, my brother, Dustin, as well. My grandparents have died. Many of them weren’t even here when half of my children were born. Many people I grew up with have passed on from this life; classmates, former neighbors, and casual friends have left this world.
As I thought about this “circle of life”, this seemingly never ending series of hellos and goodbyes, I had an interesting thought. I imagined that the same longing, anticipation, and love awaited me in Heaven. I thought of St. Paul’s reminder that, “we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses“. In my mind I could see myriads of family and friends waiting in anticipation for my “birth” into eternal life. Unlike Eloise, I will know them in an instant. I will recognize their love and longing for my arrival. I will join this loving crowd and I too will look with anticipation to the arrival of those I have left behind, temporarily, in this life.
The birth of a child, any child, is one of joy and celebration – in this life. The death of any child of God, at any age, is a time of sorrow and sadness – in this life. Yet, it is a cause for great celebration for those who await us in eternity. This is why the Church most often celebrates the feast day of a saint on the day of their death. It is the day that he or she is truly born; born into eternal life, never to die again.
At the end of my life be it today, a year, or 30 years from now, as I begin to cross the threshold, I am sure that I will wonder where all the time went. I will see the trials and tribulations of this life as so many labor pains that while in their grasp seem eternal, but once through them appear as only an instant. Just as sleep is a little death, birth is a little death, a passing from one world to the next. Yet, death is truly the day of our birth. A day looked for and longed for by our friends and family and most especially by God Himself. May I hear the Lord call out, “well done!“, my friends shout with joy, “you made it!“, and the hosts of Heaven sing, simply, “Happy Birthday, to you…“.
FUN FACT: Eloise was born on June 13th. This was the original due date of her father, our son, back in 2001 but he was induced a week early. June 13th, Eloise’s birthday, our son’s due date, is also the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the day he was born into heaven. Eloise’s dad, our son, is, you guessed it – Anthony!
James M. Hahn, Author 