Asa Joseph Daniel

My Dear Nephew,

Even at the tender age of only eight months, you cannot begin to imagine the impact your young life has already had. You came into our lives on April 24, 2005, and already you were blessed beyond measure.

Your birth mother, knowing the infinite value of life, chose to carry you to term. Then perhaps doubting her ability to provide for you in such a way as she believed necessary for your well-being, she offered you up for adoption. It surely was not easy for her to do. In fact, she very nearly changed her mind more than once after having agreed to allow my brother and his wife to offer you a home in their hearts. You see, dear child, you already had a home in her heart. Like I said, blessed beyond measure.

Then the time came for you to go home with two parents who had prayed that one day they would be blessed in such a way as to share their home and their hearts with a little one. These are good people, and your life was being laid out even before this moment had arrived.

Your father is my "baby" brother although he can hardly be considered a "baby". In fact, in many ways your father matured long before I did! He prepared for his future in college, graduating from the University of Arkansas. His path to true success included asking your mother to be his wife.

Do you see, beloved child of God, that your life has been touched by a Divine Hand even before you were formed in your mother's womb? Just as it is written in the book of Jeremiah, the Lord has a wondrous way of working in our lives even before we are consciously aware of it. And I sincerely hope you grow to realize this truth.

I only got to spend a few hours with you during your first Christmas, and it was all I could do to contain my emotions. I have nieces who are incredible young ladies and, of course, I have children of my own. Why is it that you have touched my life in such a profound way?

I think it may be because we tend to take so much for granted. While many couples plan for children in their lives, I cannot say that there is much prayer to that end. Of course there are the usual casual prayers that a hoped-for child will be born healthy and with all fingers and toes. There are, of course, the fervent prayers of those experiencing a difficult pregnancy. I still wonder how often couples pray together to ask for such a blessing, assuming that such a thing is nothing more than a biological wonder. It is not often that we parents think in terms of miracles until we have been privileged to actually witness the birth of our own children. I know this to be true in my own case when your cousins were born.

I hope that as you continue to grow in your life and your family's faith, you will one day realize that you were no accident. In fact, I've often preached that there is no such thing as an accidental life. There are certainly pregnancies that were not intended, but there is no such thing as a life without purpose. There is no such thing as a life that has not been divinely created. It just is that too often we can become so busy with "stuff" that we forget that Someone greater than we had a plan all along. He is only too glad to share His plan with us, but we forget to ask. We simply take for granted that what happens to us incidentally must have been what was intended all along. This may or may not be true, but we will never know the truth of it if we never bother to ask the Author of life.

Even as you are so richly blessed in your young life, you are also a blessing to so many others that you may never be fully aware of. I know of doctors who have helped to deliver hundreds of babies, and the wonder of this miracle never escapes them. Each is special in its own right and time.

Your birth has reminded us all of the miracle of life itself and that even as we forget to give thanks for the simple things in life, the Lord does not forget us so easily. So He sends us little reminders of all that is good and true and right. He blesses us with children.

The world that you've been born into is not always such a pretty place. As you grow, I pray that you will witness, and perhaps even experience, enough misery so that you can take pleasure in the simplest of blessings. This way, you will be able to experience the glory of God's presence in your life without waiting for something like the parting of the Red Sea!

Your parents love you so much that they have presented you to a church in the community you will likely grow up in, recognizing that you are truly a gift from Heaven itself and also in knowing that they - like the rest of us - will need a little help.

Just know that you have touched lives without even trying. Imagine what you will accomplish one day when you actually put forth an effort. And I pray that you will.

With Profound Love,

Uncle Michael