It’s past midnight and his diaper is dirty again. It has been many hours since I last slept and I have to go to work early in the morning. I take him out of the nursery and into the hallway so I don’t wake his brother and sister. To protect him from the hallway light, I cover his eyes with a baby blanket and expertly change the fifteenth diaper of the day. I make sure his body is completely clean, and the diaper is secure, but not too tight. Suddenly, the blanket comes down, exposing wide eyes, a bright smile, and a verbal greeting of “peekaboo.” My task-oriented demeanor melts into a smile and I take one of many mental snapshots. Never forget this moment. 

It’s been ten months since my triplets were born. Ten months of passing my wife in the middle of the night as we take turns sleeping in the babies’ room. Ten months of daily washing and refilling twenty-one Dr. Brown bottles. A daily regimen of feeding, burping, changing, and playing with each child for thirty minutes, such that every hour and a half we are doing so for an hour and a half, 24/7. Ten months of creating a “baby step” goal of making it to the next feeding so we don’t get overwhelmed by what is in front of us. 

In those days, I felt closer to God than ever before. I was dependent on His divine provision and presence for every feeding and all the unexpected moments (the easy and the hard). Due to the difficult emotional journey of my wife and I getting pregnant, I looked beyond the overwhelming aspect of having triplets and saw the pure gift of three children. I viewed the years before pregnancy as God preparing us to be parents of triplets. This gave me a confident peace that God was with us, that His hand was in everything that came our way during a high risk pregnancy, and for whatever would come when we were outnumbered by three newborns. I was able to be joyful in difficult times, laugh instead of cry when little newborn things occurred, and to be an encourager for my wife.  

I take much comfort today, seventeen years after the birth of my children, that God was with me before and since. His presence and my certainty of His provision vividly experienced then, is available to me today, no matter how overwhelmed or distracted I get by the small and major things. I am armed with the Truth of His words, that if I seek I will find, and that I can trust in His plans. 

Nathan Tweedie finds that a walk, especially in nature, is a great way for him to meet with God. His favorite Christmas movie is Elf. When Nathan finds himself with down time he loves to play basketball.