Just a few weeks ago, I received a text message from my dad which read, “Welcome to the world, dear child of wisdom, beloved child of God, baby Sophia!” My sister had given birth to their baby girl Sophia Jo, my niece, my parent’s first grandbaby, on July 10th at 6:31 AM we were all thrilled to finally get to meet her, shower her with kisses and cuddles, and tell her she is deeply, so deeply loved.
After receiving so many pictures and videos these past few weeks, I was thrilled to be able to drive down to their home in Arkansas to visit and meet my sweet new niece. I grew emotional as i held her in my arms, and she so lovingly grasped onto my fingers. It seems that holding a newborn baby is one of the most peaceful things. We read books in the nursery about women and dreamers persisting society and gazed into each other’s eyes. Proud Mom and Dad even got to go on a date while I, a proud Aunt took care of baby Sophia.
As I gazed down at her while she slept in my arms, I was reminded of Psalm 139 is about an inescapable God, a peaceful watchful presence as a mouther watches a new-born baby sleep soundly. God knit little sweet Sophia together, and she is wonderfully made. This was a sweet reminder of God’s comforting presence. God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows when we sit and stand up. God knows where we’re going and what we’ll say before we say it, God surrounds us, putting God’s comforting hand on our shoulder. God is always near, and God names that we are wonderful and beautiful as we are.
This Psalm is one we can come back to whenever we’re discouraged or down about who we are. It’s a text we can return to time and time again when we are overwhelmed by the mean nasties (as Brené Brown calls them), the voices in our head that tell us we’re never good enough and will never amount to anything. God very carefully knit us together and calls us good, exactly as we are, flaws and all. That is something to be thankful for!
May you feel God’s peaceful watchful presence upon you!
Pastor Kristina