The Surprises of Grace

There’s plenty in the news right now to make us feel stressed, anxious, frustrated, discouraged: the nauseating Epstein drama, an awfully destructive flood season on the east coast, and a new pocket of mounting violence in Kenya, only adding to the conflict that seems to be wracking the globe.

In the midst of all of that, though, here’s a smaller headline that’s worth a share of our attention: the world’s most premature baby was successfully delivered in Iowa City last summer, and he’s just had his first birthday – becoming the first baby to live so long after being born at just 21 weeks. He had weighed less than a can of soda when he was delivered, and the hospital’s tiniest equipment was almost too large for him. He’s now a “happy, talkative, and giggly baby boy,” of whom his parents “could not be prouder.”

His life is of course a testament to the reality that human life begins long before a baby’s been born. At 20 weeks, little Nash was much more than a bundle of cells. He was a human person, an individual fully – if surprisingly – equipped to find his place in the world.

But his life is also a testament to the reality that in the midst of everything else happening in the world, there’s an ordinary drama of suffering and joy, of trial and miracle, taking place in the ordinary lives of people like Nash and his family and ordinary places like Iowa City. The headlines risk tearing our attention away from that drama; and of course, there’s a lot that’s of importance to attend to, when it comes to the big, messy world stage. But the ordinary is also where some of the best surprises of grace lie in wait, surprises ready to temper our stress, anxiety, frustration, and discouragement. We should remember not to miss them.

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