Babies and Magnolia Blossoms-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: April 10, 2022
It’s been years since I attended an “in home” Baby Shower, but I was honoured to be at one this past weekend. Covid sabotaged so many celebrations but once again we are able and privileged to come into each other’s homes and celebrate with joy and laughter. And there was an abundance of that. That’s what the anticipation of new life evokes. Joy, dreams, hopes and plans. We didn’t talk about messy diapers and all night feedings, but focused on the smell, softness and cuddliness of a tiny miracle creation. I also got to hold a four-week old baby, and what is it about the sweetness of the smell?
The sweetness of holding a baby!
Sunday morning as I drove into church I noticed the magnolias trees were in full bloom. Oh my heart, the beauty of the pink/fuchsia being a sign of the emergence of a new season. It just made me so happy. Sometimes life throws us curve balls but this week I was reminded that hidden in the midst of in disappointments and pain, there is the miracle of new birth.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while you know I love the outdoors, hiking, snowshoeing, golfing and walking. On a particularly long hike this past week I must have stepped the wrong way, but obviously did something wrong because the next day my right knee blew up like a balloon. I was devastated! What would this do to my beloved summer activities? Then off to Urgent Care to wait many hours and not come up with any results other than “It doesn’t look good. “ In the meantime, I need a miracle of new birth or my heart will become crushed. After some tears and feeling sorry for myself I had to give myself hope.
I do that by turning to God’s word.
I love the prophet Jeremiah who spent 40 years of his life warning God’s people to stay away from idols and to turn back to God. Jeremiah, even in his young years experienced many frustrations and hardships. And yet this Godly man who never saw human success or won any awards was able to declare in Lamentations 3:22-24 “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
And then our Lord Jesus Christ who went to the cross willingly for my sin, died so that we can all experience new birth. But before He went to the cross He warned us: “So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
So we know there is trouble, hardships and disappointments and we all have them. But we also have daily new hope and birth. New birth within ourselves and new hope and mercies for each day. When I go to God’s word I always find new birth, and the sweetness of that I may never understand but I embrace it. Fully and extravagantly. I won’t know what’s happened to my knee until x-ray results come back, but I know whatever it is, there will be new understanding, new hope, healing and new birth waiting for me.
I know it and declare it. And I wait.
What new birth are you waiting for these days? Remind yourself that every day is a new day and God is working everything out behind the scenes.
