She came out of the candle lit bathroom, and calmly told me that it was time to head to the hospital. My wife’s labor pains were becoming more intense and frequent. Nothing too crazy though; the late-night drive to the hospital almost felt precautionary. I didn’t speed. No one was screaming (yet). We listened to some music on the way and talked about the wall I had just painted in our new baby boy’s room, how much his older brother was going to love him and the nervous excitement we both felt. We had all the time in the world.

We entered the lobby and politely told the attendant on the labor and delivery floor that Erin was having some more frequent contractions and that we’d like for a doctor to check everything out. We thought that we may even be sent home so I hadn’t even brought a bag up to the floor. Erin had spent many hours in labor with our first son, so we felt little urgency. They took her back and asked me to hold tight in the waiting room. I was leaning back in my chair and checking some scores on my phone for a few minutes when I heard a loud scream. I thought that maybe Erin was waiting a little while longer because the nursing staff was attending to the screaming woman.

Shortly after that roar that I’d heard, a nurse slung open the lobby door and asked me to get back there with my wife. I wondered if I should go down and grab the bag first, but the tone of her voice sounded urgent. Within moments of walking through the door, I saw many nurses working quickly to get Erin onto a bed and into a room. I felt my stomach drop. Apparently, her water had broken moments after walking back to the triage room. They told me everything was okay but that she needed to start pushing immediately. The nurse looked at me and said, “the baby will be here any minute.” 

That’s when the story gets a bit hazy for both of us. Eli Noelte entered the world about fifteen minutes later. I can tell you almost nothing about those fifteen minutes other than our doctor had no time to get there and the nurses delivered our baby boy. Tears of joy, happiness and utter shock streamed down our faces. An hour or so ago, we were deciding if it was the right time to visit the hospital! Our family was receiving pictures of our bundle of joy before they even knew that we had made it safely to the hospital. The family text thread probably went something like this.

1:15 AM Heading to the hospital, will keep you in the loop when contractions get closer!

2:22 AM *Picture of baby* with caption, Eli is 7lbs 14 oz! Praise God! Mom and baby are doing great! (nervous face emoji)

This didn’t go quite as planned, but this was his story. We knew that God was with us all the way.

Could you feel the rawness of his story? Almost like you were there? I think we sometimes lose this feeling when reading about the birth of Jesus. We read about the trip that Joseph and Mary took from Nazareth to Bethlehem without thinking about the ninety miles they traveled on foot was a week-long trip. Even in temperature-controlled vehicles, traveling while being late in the third trimester is grueling for any lady. They basically hiked ninety miles and camped out along the way. I know from my own experiences, even a fun trip causes some arguments, unexpected bathroom breaks, and lots of unforeseen challenges. Do you think their trip was the same?

What about when things started getting serious at the inn? No room? What? Are you kidding me? My in laws took a family trip to New York City when my wife and her two sisters were younger. After arriving at the hotel, the concierge told my father-in-law that they couldn’t find their reservation. After he had looked several times at his computer and repeated, “I don’t have a reservation for you,” the nicest words my father-in-law could muster were, “Stop saying that!” I still laugh every time I think about it because he’s one of the most patient men I know; but, in that moment, he could barely contain himself. Do you think Joseph felt the same?

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7

                  Do you think laying their little baby boy in a manger was part of the plan? No way! I could be wrong but I’m guessing this didn’t go the way that they expected. However, I know that Mary knew God was with them all the way. This was not their birth plan, but this was His birth story. Isn’t that how it goes sometimes? Occasionally, we make the mistake of writing our own plans, and get surprised when God writes a different story. This typically happens when we fail to include God in our plans and only hope that He signs off on them later. We must first let God drive the planning stages.  Afterall, He is the author of our stories, and He wants to write with us. When we let God write with us, He turns waiting into worship, roadblocks into beautiful scenic detours, and trials into perseverance. He might even turn a stable into the greatest labor and delivery room to ever exist. What plans are you willing to let him author?

Just fishing with my daddy,

Ryan