If only I had known then, what I know now.
Ray and I were with two of our granddaughters yesterday afternoon. Supper was ready but they begged to show us their big surprise first. Excitedly, they led us to their front yard. With glee they showed us these.
As I relished the sight of these annual gifts of life from the hand of God and the joy of our granddaughters, I thought of you and how these two lone purple crocuses might be an uplifting sight, especially for those of you who are still completely in the throes of winter. I expect to see more winter, too, but it is encouraging to see that spring is on its way.
Crocuses remind me of the birth of our first child, John. Happy Birthday today, John. John was born while we were living in Oxford, Mississippi. During John’s and my hospital stay, we had snow and an eclipse. On the day we took him home, crocuses were blooming in our yard.
Of course, I remember many things from those precious days. One memory was the overwhelming feeling of responsibility. John was born before the Oxford hospital allowed fathers in the delivery room. After he was born, the hospital kept John in the nursery and only brought him into my room for nursing and short visits. Ray had to be suited up in paper protective gear to visit with us in my room.
Then, when the time came for us to take John home, the staff wheeled him into our room in a rolling baby crib from the hospital nursery and left him with us. After a few days in the sterile hospital environment, we were on our own to take him out into the world. I felt very inadequate and scared, wondering at the contrast between the cautious hospital and their “expert care” to the real world and us inexperienced newbies.
If only I had known then, what I know now. God trusted me with this baby. He believed in me. He loved John more than I did — and that’s a lot of love because I love John so very much. If God believed I could handle this, then I could. He would empower me.
I hope you realize that He trusts you with His beloved ones that He entrusted to your care.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you
in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
for His divine power has granted to us
everything pertaining to life and godliness,
through the true knowledge of Him who called usÂ
by His own glory and excellence.
2 Peter 1:2-4