For any who may be curious, here’s a bit of background on the birth of Jonathan and how we chose his name:
Jonathan Elijah Chediak was born at 3:02am on Wednesday, September 26th. He was 7 lbs.14 oz. and 20 inches long. We praise God for a safe delivery and a healthy mom and baby.
The delivery was an exciting one. After weeks of false contractions and a day of very slow ones, Marni was sure they’d be gone again by morning. But after midnight on the 26th they started coming strong with less than a minute between each one. Marni finished packing, woke Alex, and they left at 1:30 for the hospital with Karis. Thankfully our friends were able to come get Karis at the hospital, otherwise Alex would have missed the birth entirely. There was no time for Marni to have the full course of antibiotics she needed, and no time for the epidural she desperately wanted. She was 5 cm dilated when they got to the hospital, and reached 10 within an hour. When it was time to push Marni protested “no! I want an epidural,” but thankfully the midwife (and Alex) reminded her to just push instead. The pushing lasted about 15 minutes. Jonathan was very healthy and has been nursing well since he was born. And our prayers were answered as he seems to be functioning just fine even though his left kidney is in the wrong place (pelvis). Marni is pleased (AFTER the fact) to have delivered naturally.
Karis is receiving lots of love and attention with both mothers spending time visiting. So far she has mostly ignored her new baby brother, but has astutely observed that he has ears, a nose, etc.
Jonathan’s name means “gift of God” in Hebrew (Karis’ name means the same in Greek). He is named primarily after Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a pastor-theologian who exuded a God-centered orientation and an effectiveness in calling people to delight in God with both their head and their heart. Many of his sermons and larger works continue to bless readers today. Buttressed by a God-entranced vision of life, the Edwards family tree has produced scores of preachers, university presidents and men and women of the highest character in many fields. And we also love Jonathan from the Old Testament, who was such a faithful friend to David and a valiant warrior.
Our son is also named after Elijah, a man of faith who was used of God to defeat the prophets of Baal, exhorting the Israelites to decisively and unwaveringly pursue Yahweh: “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).
We pray that our son will be a man of similar faith and conviction, a lion-like lamb and a lamb-like lion, whose life will promote the cause of Christ in a myriad of ways.
Thank you for your prayers,
Alex, Marni, Karis, and Jonathan