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Never has a task felt so repetitive and so mundane.  Nonetheless, never has a task felt so needed and so incredibly purposeful: Changing. Yet. Another. Dirty. Diaper.  From soiled to clean, once again.  And it would be silly to become frustrated with the task when these youngsters we care for are so little that they're simply unable to control these natural bodily functions. It isn't a perfect analogy, but bear with me. Or if we're talking about the baby on your lap, maybe it would be better suited to say "bear down" with me as they fill their pants again! Ok, that's probably taking my inner labor/delivery nurse bodily-function-language-filter (or lack thereof) too far. You'll have to bear down with me, too. Oops. Too far, again? Well, there goes the hope for a smooth delivery of this topic! Ha! Are you laughing with (or at) me yet? Ok, but for real: I can't help but think: Is this perhaps how God views the cleansing of our sin? Repetitive. Purposeful.

As I sit here gazing at our sweet baby's face, it's as if I've never seen or understood a baby's helpless state before; I find myself having a "lightbulb" moment, where Matthew 18:3 hits me in a brand new way. Our precious son, completely reliant on us as his caretakers: the two people God chose, enabled and entrusted to give life to this little one. Whoa, dude. That's a big responsibility. And yet, my heart rejoices as Mary's did in Luke chapter 1, "magnifying" the Lord, because no, I could not have done anything this beautiful apart from the Lord, the Creator. I rejoice in Zion's life. He's such a blessing to GET to take care of!! The Lord has indeed done beautiful things for us, and HOLY is his name! And then, to think that God willingly gave up his firstborn - his one and only Son for us. It seems unfair. Probably because it is. Yet, Jesus went willingly into the humble, helpless human form as he became a baby. But, that's a w