A New Year's Gift...

My new year’s story about seeing God is one I remember every year because it is my youngest son’s birthday.  He is turning 23 today, and he was and is a gift from God in so many ways.  We had decided to only have 2 children but just when my son Anthony was out of diapers, God decided otherwise.  I hate to admit that at the time, my views on abortion were quite different and for about a split second I considered it, but looking at my 2 other children, I realized I couldn’t even entertain the thought.  He was due January 7th and I prayed for the baby to be born on Jesus’ birthday.  Well Christmas came and went and I just figured that my prayer was not answered.  January 1^st 1988 my son Daniel Paul Godinho was born at 4:35am.  First to be born at KW Hospital in Waterloo that year. 

Many years later I remember watching a documentary on the true date of Jesus birthday, and they had claimed that a monk had been asked to find the actual date of Jesus’ birth and to revise the current calendar to start from that date; so according to this documentary Jesus birthday would be January 1^st.  The closest I’ve come, on internet searches is identifying that “Pope John the First asked a monk named Dionysius to prepare a standardized calendar for the western Church.” But apparently they say he was off by a few years.  As far as the day goes, there are various theories, but I am going to keep searching.  So maybe God did answer my prayer after all…whether or not he was born on Jesus’ actual birthday, he is my gift from God at New Year’s. 

Each of my children are special to me in their own ways, Daniel is my motivator, the optimist that keeps me on my toes, the one that knows just how to push my buttons, stubborn, like me, we get into disagreements that can only end in stalemate…he is also my baby that still needs nurturing, he is my sweet, big strong muscular man that is as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside…oh ahem sorry, I mean handsome, he is one of my children, all precious gifts from God, this one given to me to hold and nurture, on New Year’s Day.

Thank you God.


Have a blessing filled 2011, and may you see God everyday.