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TheTime COIN
Camille Anding
The Lord continues to add branches
to our family tree, and I’m so grateful.
Baby Shepherd Anding Dobbs arrived on April 30,
2020 – all 6 pounds, 3 ounces of his tiny frame. He
seemed very relieved to extend his arms and legs from
his cramped, fetal position.
Someday when he’s older, family will tell him about
the strange state of the world he was birthed into. I
would have chosen a more normal time when family
could have kept sentinel in the waiting room and gotten
first glimpses through the nursery windows. Instead,
we jumped at every phone ping to view pictures and
discuss family resemblances. The sinister COVID-19
even cut short his hospital stay from three days to two.
Under normal times, we would have been grouped
around his driveway, waiting to welcome him and take
turns holding him. Shepherd’s doctor nixed all of those
ideas and insisted he didn’t have any visitors for several
days. Our phones were our only means of viewing our
new addition, but God is good in all circumstances in
dealing with His children.
Someday I hope to share with Shepherd
how God can turn bad times into good
times. I will explain that love is always
stronger than anything the enemy can
send against us, including threatening
hearts for Shepherd, didn’t decline or diminish just
because we couldn’t touch him physically. Love had
already securely planted him in our hearts and minds.
We could deal with the temporary separation, too,
because we knew it was temporary. It just amplified
our anticipation of seeing him face to face.
Families are irreplaceable, but there are times when
a herd of inquisitive relatives can add some anxiety
and discomfort to delicate situations. Newborns are
definitely swamped in delicate moments and experiences
as well as their rookie parents. The quarantine
took care of those concerns which allowed the
threesome bonding time they will never forget.
This entire Corona deal has given us loads of details
that Shepherd will find hard to believe when he’s old
enough to understand. That’s assuming and trusting
that the days of masks and social distancing are things
of the past by then.
However, we will always be able to rejoice in
knowing God is sovereign over all, and there is never
separation and social distancing with Him. We
also will assure Shepherd that he arrived in God’s
perfect timing, bringing us just the kind of joy
we needed in strange and difficult times. ●
viruses. Our love, already growing in our
122 • JUNE 2020