Just a glimpse

You can read a lot about parent/child bonding and still not understand it. I sort of understand it when it comes to my parents, but I cannot grasp the bond I'm creating with my child. Not even close. To be perfectly frank, I fear it won't come as easy for me as it does for some. I pray it does. And every once in a while, God gives me a little glimpse of just how beautifully he orchestrates this bond, even when you aren't paying attention.

The first time my heart twinged with the thought of being on the parent side of this relationship was in our breast feeding class. I was uncomfortable and frustrated and overwhelmed. And then, in an effort to prove to the men in the class (my husband being one of them) that men really do matter in the feeding process, the nurse spoke about going into rooms to examine babies, making them upset, and dad just walking over and speaking to the baby, calming them down. These are babies who are 4 hours old and they recognize the voice and the smell of their daddy enough to trust the safety he offers, even without the warmth of his embrace. That's incredible.

And last night, we kicked off care group season by passing around our newest member, a 3 week old 7 pounder. She's tiny. It's hard to comfort someone so tiny. She started squaking something fierce. Mom stood up, crossed the room, picked her up, and it was over. In an instant. She wasn't unsafe or uncomfortable or abandoned in someone else's arms. But they weren't her mommy's. And that's really all she wanted. It's miraculous. I can't believe I get to take part so soon!