I had the awesome pleasure of holding a newborn baby today. It’s not something I’ve done much of so far, maybe 3 times before. It’s amazing how much power a 7 pound infant can wield, commanding the attention of a crowded room, new parents and grandparents bursting with pride, overflowing with joy. Examining every gesture, every sound, every moment, their lives forever changed. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s one of those rare moments in life you can’t help but be awestruck, genuinely choked up at the wonder of it all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with my God daughter and toddlers her age and older kids. But there’s something really special and magical about a newborn whose age can still be measured in hours, whose weight is still the same as it was in the womb.

She was so soft and new, so delicate and fragile but hearty and strong. With pink pursed lips, velvety thin hair and see through skin. Her wispy eyebrows and scrunched up face, rosy red cheeks and wrinkled hands, her tiny little outfits and swaddling cloth, pink caps covering her precious coned head. This perfect little angel so sweet but sturdy, her floppy head already learning to support itself, her curiosity tempered only by her overwhelming urge to sleep.

She rested so sound and full of peace, waking here and there to a brand new world of foreign sights, sounds and smells. She’s already learned to find solace in the unfamiliar, with the familiar love her parents bestow. And grandparents, uncles and aunts, nephews, cousins and friends, all to support, protect and cherish this brand new soul.

I could have eaten her up in that moment, in my arms imbibing her newness, her snuggly wonder and innocent charm. I could live to kiss her chubby cheeks, breathe in her fragrant hair, and tickle her tiny toes. When you're an infant you live in the moment without knowing any other way. You have no past to regret or future to fear. When we’re blessed to see a newborn experience that moment......if even for a very brief moment, we become filled with comfort, hope and grace.