Children are a gift from the Lord, so the Bible says.
It's true, you are a blessing, and it's not hard to believe. Your smile, your dreamy little face when you sleep, and even your tears all melt my heart into a pool of love.
And yet as a baby you are totally dependent on those around you. As you grow, you will still require much training, correction, and guidance for a long time to come – enough so that I'm sure I'll be wanting to eat these words and spit them out over and over again in absolute frustation.
But you are blessing. When you were first born, you could give nothing in return for the sacrifice of labor it took to get you here. And it was a sacrifice, from the beginning, a laying down of my life so you can have yours.
But the truth is there is no measure of what you can give that defines who you already are. You are a gift simply because you are you. Yes, my hope and prayer is that you do good with your life and in so doing become a blessing to others.
But you are inherently a blessing for a far different reason, a reason many fail to grasp. Simply put, you are a gift because you are my opportunity to love – to love without reserve and without preconditions.
My choosing to love you in this way transforms my soul. And that transformation is always good, no matter how hard.
It is a blessing to love you, Little One. And it will always be my blessing to do so.
