Babies....

Babies....

New born animals are so cute to watch.  The calves as their gangly legs work erratically to stand, pushing up first on leg then the other, only to fall back to,the ground....then trying again and again until finally success ....all the while the mother is lowing, encouraging ....then the hunt  begins for that first nourishment...the miracle of it all...

Baby goats are similar, only they seem to have springs in their legs, hopping up and down, up and down, starting their bouncing through life....the miracle of it all...

Baby chicks, turkeys, quail, fowl in general, pecking their way out of those shells into the cold air, wet, cold, slowing drying the fuzz that covers their bodies...launching into life...the world unknown...the sky...the miracle of it all....

New born human babies are so helpless...extending their arms in the air, grasping for something, tensing, not seeing well, needing warmth, nourishment, needy in every way.....the miracle of it all...

I had the privilege to watch my fifth grandson enter the world yesterday...he was ready on one level, not so much on others.  "It is cold out here...the lights are bright....and so many people....I think will cry and let them know..."  So pink, soft, precious, helpless...blessed with life...care...

Another generation.....small enough to be held in two hands ....big enough to let the world know he had arrived....

How did Eve feel  when she held that first baby?....in awe, wonder, blessed....scared?

Or down through the ages, each new mother, did they see the miracle of life that they held in their hands...that first look, that first toe count, that first snuggle, that first cry, that first smile....beyond comprehension how that miracle happens, is woven to precisely in the womb...

Mary, the mother of Jesus....she had other promises with her small newborn son...those things she pondered in her heart and mind...the Emmanuel, Messiah....the sacrifice for all mankind...the lover of our souls....still a newborn to be cherished and cared for...

Thank YOU for babies,,,a reminder that we are all so dependent on You for life and breath at any age...the miracle of it all...

Genesis 4:1 [ Cain and Abel ] Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Luke 2 New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them..

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem .