a faith observed: What I love about Grace

Thursday, August 5, 2010

What I love about Grace

the way she smiles when I sing anything to her but her very favourite is the itsy bitsy spider
the way she always goes for the toilet paper whilst accompanying me to the restroom
her patience and graciousness - very rarely demanding anything from anyone but still she lets you know "nobody puts baby in the corner"
her big eyes, especially turning to see me when she's in her carseat
the way she lights up when the phone rings, tries to grab it and smiles away while I talk
the way she will sit and watch me hang up the washing, wash the dishes, or fold laundry
the way her hands go everywhere- her inquisitive nature, looking to explore everything around her
the way she smiles at everyone and makes immediate eye contact with strangers -she loves a crowd and is a quiet but very social little girl
the way she talks most while eating or waiting to be feed
the way she opens her mouth for the next bite as soon as I say "open"
the way she eats everything, quickly and grunts away
the delight in her eyes watching Simon and seemingly not minding his passionate love in the form of tackles, bite/kisses, and bear hugs

and believe me, the way she is sleeping these days (while there is still room for improvement ! :) ) make everything about Gracie that much better.

2 comments:

Marge said...: Thanks for giving us a commentary of that which we can not see!! Makes it easier to picture her...and all that goes on around her. Can't wait to check it out in person!; August 6, 2010 at 12:17 AM
Judith said...: What I love about Grace: Her wonderful parents!; August 7, 2010 at 6:42 AM

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This is me, a faith observed.

C.S. Lewis writes about the pain of losing his beloved wife, Joy, in his book, "A Grief Observed". In some ways this is my attempt to share my journey through grief and back into life, as the past nine months have been characterized by an immeasurable longing for my beloved father, who died suddenly this past January.

After months of hibernation from the internet, I unexpectedly find myself able to re-begin this blog and connect with my larger community of family and friends. This blog will likely reflect less of the intensity and depth of my pain and more of the simplicity and ordinary joy that keeps my life full - namely days running after our little boy, Simon Pierre. But it is because of the incredible love and presence that defined my relationship with my father, that I feel I can will myself to not just survive each day but to pour that same kind of love and attention onto Simon.

My father was an endless source of strength to me, a pillar of faith. His last words, spoken to my mother as he passed into that which is unseen, "God is good - good all the time", have remained with me through this dark cloud of grief. And when God seems hidden, when justice seems to be losing out, when life is unfair, and when death swallows up the one I most love, I remember my father's words and breathe in this promise, that the God of love is in the process of restoring that which has been destroyed.

And as my father told me in dream I've had since his death, "Look to Jesus. As a father, to point you towards Him is the best gift I can give to you." So here I am, this is me, a faith to be observed.

I hold onto that which is not always seen- the promise of God's goodness, the hope that one day in the promised new heavens and earth- on a grassy hill or a sand covered beach- the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side and I, too, will lie down side by side, next to my father, and we will laugh and laugh until there are no more tears left to cry.