Last night, I held a snugly newborn little girl. She weighed almost seven pounds and was full of that new baby smell. (I always love the smell of their scalp). I hung out in the hospital room with the parents, talking about the hospital food, the new crib their friends at church had given them and the new job the father had just gotten. We gathered around and I prayed over the baby and gave her a blessing. I love pastoral visits like these.

Except I know the mother, and this is the fifth baby she has had, and the state got all the previous ones. And the baby looks healthy enough, even though I know the mom had a 2 pack a day habit while she was pregnant. And the dad looked proud enough of his new job, but I know that if he keeps this job for three months, it will be a record for him. They are not exactly prize-winning in the potential parents category.

But maybe this time is different. This job seems more stable than previous ones. This time they have an apartment with a lease and they are actually participating in a church, where folks are taking an interest in them and supporting them. And some of the older ladies in the mother’s life are helping her out, showing her how to burp the baby and so on. In other words, they have a community now, albeit somewhat tenuous.

Last night when I prayed for baby McCalla, I asked God to watch over her and protect her, for her to always make good choices and to be strong. I also prayed that the dad would keep the job, that the mom would be a good mom and that the love of this baby would help them both be more responsible parents and people. It is pretty much up to them, though. You can’t force people to care, as much as I wish you could.

I know that their becoming good parents (even good people) is not likely… but yet I pray for it, just the same. And odds are that baby McCalla is already done at two days old - statistically, she will probably be pregnant by age 15 - if she even makes it to age 15. So I know that hoping she will grow up to be strong, sober and good is probably not the way to bet. But it is the way to pray.