Knowing that God designed everything with intention, I have been thinking often about 'family'. God could have designed people to be born from eggs, but He chose the most intimate way possible, in the womb. He could have created people to be born alone and capable of survival, but He chose to provide parents to care for the baby, born helpless and vulnerable. He could have commanded people to live and serve each other in a life of single hood, but He blessed marriage and family life. The more I think about the purpose of family, the more my eyes are opened to all that God wants us to learn from our familial relationships. I've already mentioned in a previous post how much I have learned from nine years of marriage. Then I watch my children interact with each other, and I see how they learn about selflessness, grace, and friendship while growing up with siblings. And the relationship that, for me, is the most profound of all is the one between parent and child. It is from being a parent that I have gained the most insight into my own relationship with God. It is an ocean that will take a lifetime to explore, and many years to write about.
But, since I am not yet ready to write a book on the subject, I will simply share with you a moment I had with my newborn. Still marveling at her miniature stature, I will oftentimes sit and stare at her while she sleeps. And there she lies, a cute bundle who does little more than eat, sleep, and look around with a perplexed expression on her face when she is awake. And yet, I am overwhelmed by the love I feel for this little person; it's a love that would compel me to sacrifice my life for her, though she has done, and can do, nothing for me in return. I would stop at nothing to save her from harm.
And right there, is a portrait of Jesus on the cross. I don't know why He loves me, when He gains nothing from loving me, except to be with me.
This is beautiful Rita. :)
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