Tag: newborn

Like newborn babies

But God offers spiritual milk

1 Peter 2:1-2 Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.

My granddaughter scrunches her face. “Yuck!”

“But you haven’t even tasted it! I promise you, this tastes good. I’m quite sure you’ll like it.”

She pushes the plate away. “I won’t. I can tell.”

“Just a tiny taste.”

“No!”

I sigh. Is this battle one I want to fight today? I finally convince her to try a tiny taste. She makes a horrible face and spits it out.

“See? I told you I wouldn’t like it.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Cucumber slices and baby carrots and tomatoes. And sweet peppers. Four of each because I’m four.”

I can live with that.

The next week I serve the yucky food and don’t say anything about it. She eats it with gusto.

“How often am I like a four-year-old?” I muse. “The struggle isn’t really about food. It’s about whether she gets to choose for herself. Like she used to say, I can do this ‘my byself.’”

You too? From the overflowing table of God’s provision for us, what nourishment do you crave today?

I crave words of kindness and gentleness. Understanding. Hope. I want to know the Lord is with me; that he perceives the weight of my concerns and is willing to share them. Today, I am drawn to drink from Psalms 145 (one of Karis’s favorites), 146, 147:

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love … The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. … The Lord is close to all who call on him (145:8, 13-15, 18).

Joyful are those who have God as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. … The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down (146:5, 8).

The Lord heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. … His understanding is beyond comprehension! … The Lord delights in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love (147:3, 5, 11).

I feel the Lord’s benevolent smile as I savor this spiritual milk, relaxing into his love and kindness. And in the fact that though he gives me choices, he is in control; I’m not. All will be well.

What will you drink today? It’s your choice!

God’s workmanship is marvelous

But God saw me before I was born

Psalm 139:13-17 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion … You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. … How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

These verses have been repeating in my head ever since my first glimpse of my granddaughter Juliana as she was born Friday evening. Every tiny part of her, so perfect, so complete. A brand new unique little person. Marvelous indeed.

Juliana an hour after birth

Ultrasound gives us a shadowy image of a child in the womb. But God sees these little ones perfectly. David tells us in this psalm that God is intimately involved with the creation of each little person. That’s why our daughter Karis was convinced that her intestinal disability was not a “mistake,” but rather something God intended to use for good. And she lived her life accordingly, always looking for what God was doing through every difficult or joyful circumstance. Still, I felt immense relief when I saw little Juliana’s first poop! Something Karis never had. I don’t know what Juliana’s challenges will be, but her intestines seem to work perfectly. Thank you, Lord.

Big sister Liliana, Aunt Valerie, cousin Caleb, and Mommy: part of the family already loving Juliana

Our extended family is growing fast! Between December 2019 and May 2020, five little girls were born, including our Talita and Liliana. The next batch included two boys, a little girl in the Cayman Islands, and now Juliana. Two babies are due in December.

God sees and intimately knows each one of them. And you and me too. No wonder the psalmist says God’s thoughts about us are precious.

With Mom and Dad, ready for a rest