Tip of My Iceberg

Exhaustion comes from an overwhelming sense of newness and change, those out-of-control adjustments that can take a lot out of us.

Little Kollyns is just a week old, and she’s completely got her days and nights mixed up, sleeping all day, remaining awake all night. Midnight is the beginning of her day, and she really comes into her own at 3 a.m.

Sleep has become a valued commodity. Debbie and Taylor are being stretched to the end of their own strength–and alertness.

Taylor has taken on the responsibility of trying to calm little Kolly by walking her, soothing her in her early morning hours. Giving Debbie a chance to get a little more sleep.

I love watching him hold his daughter on his chest, tenderly letting her sleep, gently rubbing her back. It’s bonding at its finest. I know many don’t have that same experience–their relationships with their fathers weren’t as loving or compassionate as Taylor is with his daughter. His is a picture of empathetic warmth that embraces this little girl whom he doesn’t fully know yet.

Kolly needs to be loved. We all do. She doesn’t know what that means; her physical needs are for closeness, comfort, food, and a clean diaper. She does, though, lean into the loving cuddles of her parents. She’s unaware of what her little heart needs, but she’s clinging to the compassion her soul was created to receive.

We all long for love, to be accepted and known for who we are, to be embraced with compassion not based on what we can do or produce or provide for others. Love gives us the foundation for our own self-image, our ability to accept who we are even if we’re not like those we see around us.

We need to be welcomed as people worthy of acceptance.

The world will always struggle with accepting all of us fully at some point in our lives. We will disappoint, disgust, or hurt others consistently because we aren’t perfect people. Yet we still need to be loved.

God loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t want to see us suffer for our messiness; He has offered a gift of forgiveness for us to fully pardon our wrongs.

“God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is REAL love–not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10

It has nothing to do with how much we produce for God, how we try to show love for Him. It’s all about how He has chosen to embrace us in full acceptance and delight.

Kolly has done nothing to earn her parents’ love. She can’t produce anything except what’s found in her diaper. But she is thoroughly loved because she’s their daughter.

God is the Father who chooses to love us. No matter what. Will we accept it?

Kolly would tell you that such unconditional love is well worth it.