Birth, Breast and Beef

Warning: sensitive content for bashful readers!

quick sketch I did last year
My little girl turned 8 today. I have never written a post about her (seems the boys get all the attention), so I hoped I would find some inspiration from her to share on this, her birthday. I did!

I held Charlotte on my lap this morning and I stroked her head, telling her how glad I am that she is my little girl. She smiled. I told her I remembered the day that I had her … how they put her in my arms and she cried like a pterodactyl … (that is how John and I described it at the time – how would we know what a pterodactyl sounds like?) She and I tried to replicate the sounds that her tiny new vocal chords had made, but we just couldn’t get the right pitch. She asked me what happened next and I told her a little about the apgar test and how the nurses cleaned her up and wrapped her in a green blanket.

She reminded me of how, when she was a baby, (she has heard about this before) she wouldn’t take a bottle from anyone. I told her about that first day in the hospital and how she stopped her crying when I took her to myself to nurse (breastfeed) her. She seemed a little surprised at this: “Did you have to teach me how to get the milk?”
I explained to her that, quite to the contrary, she knew just what to do … and was quite a natural at breastfeeding. I have heard this is not always the case, but with my three children, it was never a problem! The first child nursed until he was _!

In the next few minutes, thinking about this, I was awed again at how fearfully and wonderfully made we are. How is it that these babies come out and know just how to find sustenance from their mothers? God has put it within them to do what they need to survive if the means are provided.

How does this apply to God’s spiritual children, those born-again believers?

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)

Peter says that we have been born again by the Word of God and we need to find nourishment there. While the sweet newborn Charlotte was beautiful as a suckling, if she was still only into milk, something would be terribly wrong! Similarly, we must move on from jealousy and quarrelling in our fellowship and stop acting like babies. (1 Cor. 3:1-3) We need to mature in our walk with the Lord so that we can handle training in righteousness, which those who aren't maturing in Christ aren’t always receptive to. (Heb. 5:12-15)

We had hamburgers for her birthday dinner - this is what she wanted and we were happy to share that meal with her.

Charlotte is my precious little sweetie. I am so glad that thinking about her as an infant brought this to mind today.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!