Tonight at 9:00 pm, I became an aunt! More details later … I haven’t even yet seen a picture of the precious baby born to my brother and sister-in-law. (Seth and I arrived back from South Carolina last night, missing his birth by 24 hours!!) But I wrote a poem to capture the emotions of this occasion:

Who will this little one be?

So much potential!

Tiny toes, hands, feet … what miles will you walk?

What work will you do?

Who will you become?

Your world is a blank canvas.

Yet planned by a Creator who has been forming you from the beginning of time.

He knew your face before any of us glimpsed it.

He knows what will make you laugh and cry.

He sees your end from the beginning.

And he loves you more than any of us can.

(hard to believe – I haven’t even seen you yet

but I love you already because you belong to us)

A late night prayer is that you will come to know

the One who knows you early in your life.

You have a better chance than many because

you will see Him in the lives of your parents.

They will show His love to you in 1000 ways, reflecting it to you like a prism’s rainbow of light.

May you receive it, drinking it in like water in a desert’s oasis.

This world is difficult.

You will find that out too soon – it is a desert

and it often feels like wandering wilderness,

but there is refreshment to carry you through.

It’s the beauty of Christ … the way He is making all things new.

As he has made you new tonight.

So this evening,

your first evening in this world,

rest well.

Sleep well, little one.

You will awaken soon enough.

The journey is long and sweet and beautiful.

Welcome to the family.