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Pastor Sam will be sharing a little about some highs and lows as a new parent! This story is slightly a bit different as this was taken from Pastor Sam's sharing on Toronto Christian Community Church's mid-week email.
Hi TCCC Church Family!
It's great to be back after taking some time away from ministry to help support my wife, Hayley, in welcoming and raising our new baby boy, Mateo. I can't believe he is already 4 months old, and already outgrowing his 12 month old onesies! In between pastoral counselling sessions and diaper changes, I just wanted to take some time out of this week to share a personal "God Moment" with you. I hope this peek into my walk with God is helpful and encouraging to you in your own personal faith journey.
My first "God Moment" began right in the first hour of Mateo's life. Right after he was born, he was immediately poked and prodded by various doctors and nurses. He was then hastily thrown into my arms, Mateo was crying hysterically and could not seem to be consoled. I awkwardly tried to speak to him and tried singing various children's lullabies to him. But nothing seemed to work, until I finally began to sing the song, "God is so Good". As soon as I began to sing this simple worship song, Mateo immediately flashed his first toothless grin and then promptly fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. As I looked and marveled at this little life that was swaddled up in my arms, I was shocked that such a simple yet profound song could calm not just this baby's heart but mine as well.
A few weeks after Mateo's birth, I found myself once again cradling and trying to comfort him while at the doctor's office. He had been struggling with latching and breastfeeding for the first few weeks of his life, and we had soon discovered that he was tongue-tied. He needed to get a quick procedure to have a little bit of the connective tissue under his tongue cut. As I reluctantly handed Mateo over to the doctor and nurses, he was immediately pinned down hard against the examination table. One nurse held his limbs down, while the other nurse pried open his little mouth. Mateo's desperate screams resounded throughout the entire medical clinic. As I stood there in anguish and heard my son's cries for help, I felt so helpless once again and didn't know what to do. The frustrated doctor turned to me, and barked out, "Try and comfort your son!".
Once again, I found myself singing Mateo's favorite song, "God is so Good". I struggled to make it through the first line without tearing up myself.
The first few weeks of Mateo's life has been filled with so many highs and lows, but God has always shown up in so many ways to affirm and remind us that He is still good.
He reminded me of his goodness through all the food and gifts people have dropped off for us, all the prayers and words of encouragement people sent us, and through calming and comforting our son in times when Hayley and I just couldn’t. Once again, God displayed his goodness by comforting Mateo through his surgery. The peace and calm that came over him was so quick and immediate that the nurses were shocked at how relaxed and cheerful he was immediately after the procedure was over.
Even now that Mateo is 4 months old, there are still so many highs and lows associated with being a new parent. But one thing remains consistent, and that is the truth that God is so good. Even though it can be so easy to get afraid and fixate on the problems in our lives, when we take the time to pray, reflect, or maybe even sing about God's goodness, the Holy Spirit tends to find ways to always reminds us of how good God has been in the past and how good He will continue to be into the future.
If you would like to reflect on God's goodness today, feel free listen to an acoustic version of this hymn through this link. A beautiful piece of scripture that also echoes this same truth is found in Psalm 100. Take some time to reflect on God's goodness today!
Finally, thank you for all your support as well as taking the time to hear a bit of my story and journey with God. We hope and pray that God would also reveal more of His goodness to you and your family as well.
In Christ,
Pastor Sam
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