10/18/2025
I wrote this up about a recent birth I attended. Shared with permission.
When Life Is Measured in Moments
Today, I witnessed a momma bring her baby earthside. It began as many births do — the rhythm of contractions, the quiet strength, the air filled with anticipation. But this
one was different.
This was her sixth pregnancy and her fourth expected live birth. Yet, this precious baby girl carried something heavy within her tiny frame: Trisomy 18, also known as Edward’s Syndrome. Only about one in every 5,000 babies are born with it, and few see their first birthday. Her parents already knew her time on this earth would likely be short.
As her mother labored — her face a blend of love, courage, and fear — I looked around the room. Pediatric specialists, nurses, and the obstetrician all stood ready, holding their breath as if time itself paused. Then, the moment came. A cry — small, fragile, yet fiercely alive — broke through the stillness.
And in that sound, the room breathed again. For now, no one had to speak the unspeakable. The mother wept. The father’s eyes glistened with both gratitude and sorrow. No one needed to say what was already known: there would be no heroic
measures, only holy moments.
The baby was placed upon her mother’s breast, skin to skin, heart to heart. There was no rush to weigh, measure, or record. Only love. Only time. Only grace.
As I watched, I was reminded how fleeting life truly is. How every heartbeat, every breath, every touch matters. We often measure life in years — but God measures it in love.
Scripture says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”
(Psalm 90:12). Watching that family, I saw wisdom born in the hardest of places — the wisdom of love that lets go, yet cherishes every moment given.
There isn’t an easy moral here. Grief and beauty intertwined defy simple answers. But I left that room changed — once again in awe of how sacred life is, even when it’s brief.
So today, I pray to love deeply, to hold gently, and to remember that every breath is a gift.
