When we started talking about having another child we certainly didn’t lack free advice.  This was usually ensconced in expressions like “already have a lot on your plate” and “practical considerations” but was also embedded in phrases like “taking risks” and “having faith in God’s plan.”  Jodi was all for it from the beginning.  Seeking wise counsel, I brought all of this advice to Pastor John Horner and plunked it down in his church office.  He listened, smiled quietly, was silent a moment.  Then he said that Scripture had no clear directive here.  However, he gets the idea from the Gospels that security comes with its own price – a safe life.  Is that what we wanted?  He sighed, “God’s plan goes against everyone’s advice.”  He spoke of love, “The balance of love in this world shifted when Jacob was born.”  And as we parted, he offered these closing words with a hand on my shoulder, “Brian, trust Jodi on this one.”  A few short months later, she called me upstairs to see the two pink lines.  After watching Gattaca, we started calling this one our Faith Baby, our Godchild.

Not everyone shared this sense of expectant joy.  As related in Jacob’s story, when we told our doctor at the National Institutes of Health that Jodi was pregnant, he exclaimed, “Oh no!”  He knew, as we did, that there was a 50% chance our second child would be born with the same genetic condition affecting Jacob.  We were gently encouraged in the direction of amniocentesis, “so that you can make an informed decision about the pregnancy.”  We responded, “Oh no! No, thank you,” at once.  We’d already made our decision.  We would welcome our Godchild on His terms.

And thank God.  Justice Major River Brown was born on April 27, 2005.  The attending OBGYN said he was the second-hardest delivery of her career.  As such, he came out with a perfectly hand-shaped bruise on his head.  His tangle of dark hair assured me that he did not have NEMO, but I was told not to get ahead of myself.  They drew blood for genetic testing and immediately started him on antibiotics, just in case.  During the pregnancy I had wondered how we could ever love another child with the same fierceness we felt for Jacob.  What silliness.  Justice took up residence in our hearts right away, right next to his big brother.  Jacob and Mommy celebrated by throwing fistfuls of flour at each other in the kitchen when the test results revealed that Justice was 100% healthy.

We gave him four names and yet somehow he’s grown into even more.  He’s our Justice Augustus, our Little Gus, our Justy Oly-Roly-Poly, our Grizzly cub, and sometimes simply our Pola.  We’ve always prayed that he would have a sweet spirit for his unique place in our family and in the world.  He does.  He is cheerful, tough, unafraid.  He’s also laid-back, relaxed, and low-maintenance.  Eating and roughhousing top his list of interests.  Books and videos don’t hold his long-term attention.  Instead, his favorite recreation is running and diving – into the ball pit, onto his brother, from the coffee table onto the couch.  Whereas some kids want to be sure you’re watching them, our Justice doesn’t perform; he dives because he loves it.  And we love him for it, this wild one. 

Our boys are brothers, true companions, and friends.  We are grateful for our second child on a level that’s hard to articulate, so I’ll borrow from John Horner…Justice Major River Brown has shifted the balance of love in this world once again.