Introducing….
Anna Michal Joy Fichtinger
Our sweet baby has arrived. And it’s a girl!!
Anna debuted into the world at 5:51 Monday morning, May 22nd. Because of who I am, I’ll be writing up a birth story narrative for those interested (and not putting it all here for those who aren’t). She weighed in at 7lbs 6 oz, and was 19″ long. Bob got to announce “It’s a girl!” and fulfill the longtime dream of a gender surprise at birth.
I have to say that everything is a bit different this time around, for a lot of reasons. But it is profound to me the degrees to which God will bless in ways we never asked for, and didn’t even know how to receive initially.
Her name, given by God in a place of prayer, is so special to me. Anna is after after the prophetess in Luke 2:36-38. Jesus had been born and was being presented to God in the temple as the firstborn son. Simeon is led by the Holy Spirit to the temple that morning to find Him, and prophesies with joy that Messiah has come. Then Anna walks up…
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
She is a woman given to God, trusting, worshipping, seeking Him life-long, even after devastating circumstance. She recognizes the Savior at His arrival, praises God for sending Him, and tells everyone: He’s finally here.
Michal (pronounced like “Michael”) means “who is like God?” Indeed. This is what we named our baby lost between Samuel & Eli’s births. We’ll meet her again in Heaven, but her name continues to declare a wonderful truth: our God is God of life, of miracles, incomparable, unrivaled, GOD. As we “discovered” Anna’s life in India, the land of 300 Million gods, the creative and redemptive power of Jesus was a stark truth to be declared.
Joy names her as the gift and intention that she is. She is already living up to it… because it is not determined by anything but her being made and given.
As Anna acclimates to the world of bright lights, loud sounds, cold air, and a multitude of other new sensations and experiences, the look of newness in her eyes as she tries to begin taking it in is amazing. I wonder if we’ll all have similar expressions when we arrive in Heaven: gazing around silently, a bit struck by the magnitude and overwhelming experience of what this place is.
And she is just so stinking cute!
Thank you for celebrating her life with us, and welcoming her to the world. Please continue to pray for her growth and development, and for the whole family’s adjustment to having a newborn in the house. The boys tonight asked God for help since they “have a new baby girl in the house and have to be quieter in things and walk through the house quieter now”. Honestly, the fact that they can slow down to a walk is real attention to the new situation!
