missing my baby...and my baby boy

I just wanted to add a post about what's going on in the Hastings' life from the dad's perspective.  This has been a really tough time for me.  Lots of things going on for me that are taking away time from Shae and Smith.  I just got back from India last week.  I was there for almost 8 weeks doing an international medicine rotation, where I worked at a mission hospital (Herbertpur Christian Hospital) in northern India.  It was a really great experience... I met lots of great people and learned a lot about medicine and life.  Part of this learning came from being isolated from my family and learning to trust and rely on my heavenly Father for comfort, encouragement, energy, and joy in the midst of sadness and stress as I struggled to deal with difficult and frustrating patient outcomes in the hospital.  So I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the summer in India, but am so happy to be home (well, sort of home).

I was home with Shae and Smith for 3 days before I had to leave again for Temple, Texas where I am doing a rotation in pediatric gastroenterology at Scott and White Hospital.  This is an important rotation and an important time in my medical school career because I am applying to residency programs right now and trying to secure a pediatrics residency spot.  We'd like to be closer to home, so I am applying to all of the programs in and around Texas.

I am so thankful to have the most amazing wife in the world!  As I look back over the last 6-7 years (I know!  It's been a long road),  I see so many places that I would have undoubtedly quit and chosen a different and easier career path had it not been for her encouragement, support, and the confidence that she gives me.  I love that Shae put in the description of this blog "our family's journey"...because this sure has been a "journey" and it looks like it will continue to be a "journey".  I'm happy about this...I'm not sure we're intended to get to some final destination in this life on earth.  I believe the journey isn't over until we are at home with the Lord in Heaven!  So we should embrace the journey or the process now and stop looking ahead to some particular goal or end point.  Check out Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" devotional for today (July 28th) as he points to this same idea:  http://utmost.org/god’s-purpose-or-mine/

So that being said, as we are struggling through this tough time of being apart and looking forward to being together again, God is still working His will in us and through us...and we are blessed to know Him and have Him by our side as we continue on this journey.

It is also so much fun right now to watch Smith growing and learning.  I know it is clichéd, but it is just crazy how fast he is growing up!  It is very exciting to see his personality developing and to anticipate what he will be like as he gets older.  I am madly in love with this kid!  It's unbelievable.  I am continuously blown away by how awesome he is!

God sure has blessed me with an amazing family (even with really cool pets)!