Tuesday, May 29, 2012

the one and only

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.  And that is what we are!”  1 John 3:1


“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me.  Your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalms 139:10

Bob and I have had friends say we act like our grand-daughter is the only one in the world.  We are crazy about sweet Isabella, that is true. She is our one and only.  We waited a long time for her and she is the “gold” in our golden years.  We understand now what our friends have been saying for years about their grandchildren.  You know- that if they had known what a delight grandchildren would be, they would have had them first!  That kind of thing.

Some of you know that she is a little miracle baby.  Our son was in his 40’s when she was born.   Poppy and I (Mimi) were both on Social Security when she was born.  Many of our older friends have grandchildren graduating from high school – and even some have great grandchildren.  We have one perfect and sweet Isabella who will be 18 months old tomorrow.  Blessed we are.

We try to bring her home with us at least once a month and keep her a long weekend to give the parents a break.  We just completed a weekend.  Did I mention she is 18 months old?  Large and in-charge?  A little whirlwind?  Never still?  Acting just like an 18 month old should act.  A large chore for a 25 year old parent (me, many, many moons ago).   But, at my age (64)… well, I can only say- you nap when they nap, cause it is like getting on a moving train that never stops when she is awake. Oh how we enjoy the visit, but I’ve got to say we breathe a sigh of relief at the “hand off” to the parents.  And say a thank you to God for giving us energy and patience to last just long enough.

But when she smiles…oh my.  We call it the Bella smile and it is awesome.  Heart melting.  Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.  You can tell by her actions and expressions that she is quite fond of us.  But, she is not saying many words yet.  I don’t know if I will be able to contain myself the first time she says Mimi and Poppy.  I look forward to having little conversations with her.

My boys are both in their 40’s now and I remember those days with them.  I don’t remember the exhaustion.  I only remember the joy.

As I think about this it brings to mind how God must have felt when he created Adam and Eve.  And, subsequently, me.  His love for me, and you, at our birth brought him great happiness.  Our smiles fill him with joy.  He wants us to love and adore him, just like I want Isabella to love and adore me.  Just like an earthly parent, he is there to mend our heart when we hurt and when there is sorrow, he comforts.  He gives us challenges to strengthen our faith.  He is always with us.  Never far away.  Just call and he will answer.

Like a parent he sometimes has to let us go our own way.  And he welcomes us back with open arms and helps us heal when our way doesn’t work out like we planned.

But unlike earthly parents, he never naps and is never exhausted.   He is unchanging.  Open. Ready.  Always prepared.  Does the right thing -  always.

He delights in us, just like we delight in our children and grandchildren.  It is as if we are his one and only.  We bring him joy.  He gives us eternal life.  I look forward to sharing this with Isabella someday soon.

Blessings,
Diane

2 comments:

Mary McLeary said...

The picture of Isabella in her hat is as pretty as any baby picture on any magazine. You certainly are blessed. Love the blog -as always.

Lisa said...

I am so blessed to have you as my friend. What a beautiful, inspiring post.

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