Mini-essay # 5 - Comparison and Contrast

THE STORK DROPPED THIS OFF
Babies are blessings from God. A miracle is given to a couple from a single act, and from it a life begins, a personality is to be unfolded, and a soul is to be loved in return. However, not all couples ask for this miracle in their lives due to timing or relationship complications or mistakes. Some babies come into the world as an unexpected gift. Abortion, adoption, and raising the child are options. My brother Chris had this unexpected gift show up in his life on December, 1st, 2008, and he and the mother chose to raise him. After Jackson's birth, a big change happened in the family. Some people in my family didn't accept the realism of Jackson's unexpectedness very well, however my immediate family accepted his presence as a miracle and a life. He is an adorable addition to the family that will be loved, despite the complications and changes that have been imposed on Chris and the immediate family.
Before Jackson's existence, my immediate family had only 4 members: my mom Debbie, my dad Bryan, my brother Chris, and myself. Each of us has a unique character; having different views, different personalities, different goals, and different interests. Although the family is diverse, personalities come together sometimes to clash and sometimes to blend, which strengthens the group. We make it through hard times and challenges in life. My parents are content with their jobs and live on the farm without Chris and I, my brother has a job in Menominee, Wisconsin, and I go to college at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Not only are we in different locations, but we are in different stages of our lives as well. Our motives and responsibilities mainly involved caring for ourselves before the birth of my nephew. All planning in the family was the immediate future or the present. Our lives changed from caring about the present stresses of work or school to caring for a child as a group effort every weekend.
This change imposed a great sacrifice upon each of us, some more than others. I am rarely home on the weekends due to work, but Chris comes home every weekend to take care of Jackson. He alone has sacrificed the most out of all of us. Money, time, social events, and weekends spent with his girlfriend in Menominee are several of his great sacrifices. My mom has also sacrificed a great deal for her grandson. She picks up Jackson from his mother's house every Friday after work and takes turns watching him throughout the weekend for Chris. She is past the mothering stage and should be able to have the luxury of spoiling her grandson upon each of his visits. Instead, she has taken on the secondary parent to help Chris when the mother is not present. Each of us have sacrificed something. For most of us it is time or hours of sleep per weekend, and I have given up my bedroom temporarily. All of Jackson's clothing, toys, furniture, necessary items, and Chris have taken occupancy in what was once my housing for the occasional weekend at home. This is not necessarily a complaint, however the point made is that the family has experienced change. Some of the changes have been good, some have been bad, and these changes do not matter to the family. What was a mistake turned out to be a miracle. The little boy has made each member of the family more responsible, loving, silly, and cooperative to change diapers, to take turns and watch him, to feed him, to give him baths, and to make him smile. Overall the biggest difference in my family has not been the feeling of being overwhelmed with responsibility, but the feeling of opening our hearts to accept the miracle that God has chosen us to love and care for.
The most recent and greatest change in my life has been the arrival of Jackson, as the family was united to help Chris take on single fatherhood and to bring all of us together from the separation of location and differences in our lives. The little miracle that has changed the family forever may have been unexpected, but now that he is here, there is no choice but to move forward. God works in mysterious ways, and perhaps Jackson is alive to bring us all together, to love one another, and to have faith that with God all things are possible. Anything can be overcome through faith and love.