New Beginnings

I met my granddaughter Lily Haven for the first time on Friday. She was just a few hours old as her father placed her in my arms and I was overwhelmed with a sense of the amazing and powerful “specialness” of this new life. I felt the exact same way when I held each of her older brothers in my arms on the day they were born.

I wanted to hold her forever but realized I needed to share her so I passed her to her Grandpa. As I watched him holding her with such love on his face, I was once again reminded of how blessed I am to have a wonderful husband who loves and enjoys his grandkids as much as I do.

For me, life doesn’t get much better than having grandkids that are such a big part of our daily lives. We are blessed to live close enough to see them whenever we want – which is pretty close to everyday.

We stayed with our grandsons when Dad took Mom to the hospital to have Lily. On our drive to the hospital to meet their new little sister for the first time, my husband asked them about what they would say to her. After much deliberation, they both decided their first words would be “Hi” (a practical choice).

As I watched each of them meet their little sister for the first time, they both forgot to say hi. The oldest just looked at her with a mildly startled look on his face. When he thought no one was looking he touched her finger. A huge smile lit up his face when she wrapped her tiny fingers around his. The younger grandson was interested in holding her. As he climbed up onto the sofa and sat down, he held out his arms to receive her. At that moment it occurred to me that this little girl would forever change her brother’s lives as they love and accept her into their family.

While Lily was being passed around among family members, I pondered the many ways all of our lives will be impacted through the birth of this little girl. I whispered a prayer of thankfulness to God for his goodness and many blessings to us.

When it was time to go our son-in-law offered to walk us all to the car. As Dad and Grandpa followed the boys down the hall, I looked back to close the door and watched my daughter holding her new daughter in her arms. She kissed her tiny hand and with a look of pure love and joy on her face, held her close. For just a moment, the past thirty years fell away and it was me holding my little girl and kissing her tiny hand with the same look of pure love and joy on my face.

I gently closed her door and smiled as I once again thanked God for the miracle of new birth and all the love and blessings in my life.

Life is good. God is good. Welcome, Lily. You are loved.