He will rejoice over you

Yesterday, I received an email from a friend and she described how she felt during the first moments of having a new baby: 

 "Lord, thank you for letting me be a mom!! I didn't even know I wanted it, and you've given me this AMAZING gift!"

I totally resonated with that statement, and for some reason thought about it ALL day. I could not get enough of Zoe yesterday! When Cam came home I started processing with him my thoughts from the day and had such an "ah ha" moment.

Zoe not only reminds me of the gospel daily, but she SHOWS me true things continuously! One of my favorite verses from college was Zephaniah 3:17.

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

When I became a christian I really struggled to rest knowing "it is finished". Jesus already deemed me worthy to die for! He already became human on my behalf and died such a humiliating death -- for ME! This whole section of scripture that talks about the joy and restoration of Israel is beautiful and my daughter makes it come to life.

Cam's eyes are shut, but I love how nestled Zoe is in his arms

Every morning that we go in and wake Zoe, she gives us the biggest smiles and Cam and I can't get enough of it. We rejoice over her with such gladness! As she stretches those chubby cheeks to form a beautiful toothless grin -- she looks like us, well really Cam. She's "made in our image" and something about that feels so right. And when she starts those precious yawns and fusses because she's tired, we quiet her with comforting and loving arms. Zoe, I can't wait until the day you recognize the amazing-ness of a daddy that you have. I love watching Cam hold Zoe in his arms with a look that says, "You're the greatest thing I've ever made", and sings to her as he dances around lulling her to sleep.

She makes us "get it" in a completely new way. Our hearts never knew how much we could love a little person until now. And I feel like Zoe is a small representation of how the Lord looks at us, his children. When he created us in His image and said it is very good. When He promises to keep us and guide us, to protect us, to love us with an unconditional, steadfast love. And in passages like Zephaniah 3 where He rejoices over us with gladness and sings loudly in exultation.

I will never love Zoe as much as the Lord loves her -- and that not only humbles me, but it amazes me and comforts me.Thank you God for the gift of "life", for Zoe. Thank you for yet another reminder of your loving faithfulness to me and my husband, to my daughter, and to your people.