A Blessing

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ~James 1:17

Well, my little love, six months ago today you came screaming into our lives. Half a year we’ve been together. It has filled me with joy to see you grow and change and bloom.

The first time I held you, all you could do was cry and blink. You’ve learned so much since then. Much to my delight, you’ve learned to smile and giggle. You learned how to hold your head up, then to roll from your belly to your back, then to from your back to your belly, then to roll from your belly to your back again. You figured out how to grab something and hold onto it and put it in your mouth (we have yet to learn how to be discerning about what goes in your mouth, however). You’ve learned that you have feet, and that your toes are somehow much easier to suck on than your thumb.

I’ll have to admit, my love, that I am smitten with you. As is anyone who meets you. If babies did such a thing, you would have exited the womb with a smile on your face. It is your default expression. Almost nothing fazes you. You are laid back and mellow and happy almost all of the time. When we play peek-a-boo or I sing to you or I kiss that little hidden spot on your neck, you giggle with delight. You really are a pleasure.

And you are staggeringly beautiful. Your big sapphire eyes, your long, dark, delicate eyelashes, that gorgeous smile—your dad and I can’t stop staring at you. Sometimes, when we sneak in your bedroom to watch you sleep, you sigh, and our limbs turn to jelly. God gives good gifts. You are a good gift.

I have so many hopes for you. I don’t know what you will excel at. Maybe you’ll enjoy writing or math or sports or art or music. Maybe you’ll blow everyone out of the water at everything like your dad. I’m excited to find out. These things will be a big part of who He made you to be. But my biggest hope is that you will love God with your whole self, and that you will find joy and comfort in His love for you. I hope that my love for you and your dad’s will be a small glimpse of this divine love, that our love for you will help you understand, in some small way, what it is like to be loved by Him.

I hope that you will show this love to other people, that you will be kind and gentle and merciful and compassionate. I hope that, as beautiful as you are, your true beauty will flow from your heart.

I love you so much, little one. Happy six-months.