The Baby Mirror

Six weeks today Benaiah was born, and it's been quite a ride! A lot's happened in that little window of time. We had wonderful host of visitors coming in and out of our home - the support and love has been an overwhelming picture of God's grace. During those weeks I also began and am about to finish my summer intensive in Hebrew grammar. Rachel went back to work last week and began getting things in order. Much to her dismay, the new owners of her hotel finally told her that they had hired someone else to do her job...so now we're job hunting. (Rachel has managed to pick up a 30 hour teaching load at the swim school for the fall, praise God!)

But more than all those events, we've been learning...a lot! We've been learning some of what it takes to be parents. We've been learning about babies. We've been learning the most about ourselves, though.

Babies, when you're not just borrowing them for an hour or two, can show you a lot about yourself, kind of like a mirror. But like a mirror, they show you everything, good and bad! I've seen my own impatience come out, my desire to be in control, my frustration over set-backs. I've seen us begin to establish a rhythm for our lives, my ability to change my priorities in an instant, my Father's patience and kindness toward me. In all of this I've seen more clearly my need for God's grace at every moment of the day.

"As a Father shows compassion to his children, so Yahweh shows compassion to those who fear him." - Ps. 103:13