Luke is now more than one month old. There have been thousands of memories in the last month, yet it seems like it has flown by so fast. I expect that Rach and I will be saying that for the rest of our lives now. We've learned so much about parenting, especially since both of us were pretty much going with the flow without much knowledge of how to do a lot of things.
The instant he was born, our lives changed forever. We lived 10 years of our lives as a couple that could do whatever, whenever, wherever and however. It was just the two of us, excluding obvious family things when we were dating in school. The point is that nobody was dependent on us.
As we began the journey of parenthood, we began to fully understand that Luke, as innocent and seemingly perfect as he is, is completely dependent on us. Whether it's food, sleep, cleaning him up or anything, he relies completely on us. As I began to think on this, God revealed a few things to me that are more present than ever.
God supplies our every need. Even when we don't know it.
Luke's life consists of eat, sleep and poop. His playtime includes a fun little mat and some crazy songs that his mom and dad make up as they go. It's such a simple life, yet he's so extraordinarily happy. What if, even when we are in a tough spot or are waiting on an answer from God on something we think we need, we just thank God for what he's given us and live extraordinarily joyful? Instead of thinking God's going to provide X, Y or Z at A, B or C time in our life, what if we just thanked him for the thousands of blessings he's provided.
The Father knows what he is doing.
We have one son. Even with that, we sometimes panic at a strange noise or when we think we've done something wrong that could "mess things up". Think about the God of the Universe, where there have been billions of lives throughout history. And HE controlled and controls every one of them! He has never made a mistake! How unbelievably limited are we that with Luke alone we are so analytical to be sure we do things correctly. The Lord, at least from what I understand, doesn't have to analyze your situation. He knew your entire being BEFORE you were born!
His love is unconditional, eternal, sacrificial and indescribable.
God, in his infinite love for us, sent his only son to die a horrific death on a cross so that you and I could be made right with Him. In my constant temporary desires and things in me that will take his stuff without thanking him for all of it, he still loves me. He doesn't love me for anything that I've been able to accomplish in my whopping 26 years of life. He doesn't love me because I'm a good person. He provided love before I ever knew Him. In fact, I was sinning against Him, yet, according to Romans 5, he loved me while I was yet a sinner. I can only hope that our love for Luke resembles this as best as possible.
We have experienced so many things in this first month of Luke's life. I've seen a lot of beautiful places in God's creation, but I'm convinced that the gift of life is the most beautiful creation there is. Looking back ten years ago, I never thought the day of being a dad would ever come. Now that it has, I hope to enjoy every day of it.
Below is a glimpse at Luke's first month of life!
