Beautiful Birth

For the fruit bassinet (!), I wanted to share with you two ideas that I treasured most thoroughly in preparing for our baby's arrival. Both are very simple and familiar, but took on unique meaning for me as I applied them.

One idea was that there is only one Shepherd. At one point I'd been thinking of the different figures involved in preparing for the birth-- myself, husband, midwife, etc.-- as being the well-trained guides of this event, like lots of helpful shepherds. Then, in a Sentinel article, out popped this truth that there is just one Shepherd of our whole experience. Then I recognized that we each are the attentive sheep, including the little lamb on his way!

This led to the second idea...I loved to remember that our baby was already expressing God, listening to God, and following God's guidance. In that way, I could trust that we all were in this together-- listening and learning co-operatively. I thought about how individual communication with God isn't something acquired at a certain point in time -- not a developmental thing.  A baby is already able to practice it, even as he travels out and into his parents' arms!

Greeting our baby was free of complications and an utterly sweet experience. As he grows, these ideas continue to help our family.