New babies

     This week two new babies were born to families in my apartment complex. Both families are from Nepal. For one of the families, this is their first baby. For the other family, this is their third. It is always really exciting when new life enters the world. I am always amazed that we start out that little and helpless, completely dependent on others to care for us. 


     Dependence. Living in America, we are encouraged to be independent. As a woman, I feel like it's important for me to be independent and to be able to show that I can take care of myself (or at least I feel like I have been told this should be important to me.) But to be completely dependent on someone? It's been awhile since I have felt that way towards anyone. When I see these new babies or when I think about children coming into foster care who have all of a sudden been ripped away from the only family they have ever known and placed into a new family...man. I cannot imagine the confusion, how scary it is, how helpless you feel and the trust that has to be built. 


     But I think about God and how he asks us to be dependent on him and how even when he is faithful, I still fight against that and think I can somehow get through life on my own without his help. I realize that for some people the trust is not there for them. So I can only speak for myself when I say that I have seen God's faithfulness in my life and yet sometimes I still fail to trust him. I fail to trust that really his desire is for my good, that no matter what I may see as negative in my life, that he has a plan to use it for his glory and that is what matters. That the underlying truth of it all is that God is good. Even in hard things. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own understanding. 

Proverbs 3:5

     When I rely/depend on others, they will fail me. If I look to others to tell me I am good enough, pretty enough, whatever, I will always fall short and spiral downwards. I know. I've done it plenty of times. But if I depend on the Lord and trust him with my life, with situations that I cannot control no matter how much I want to, he will take care of it. He will show me, again, that he is someone I can depend on. 


     New babies and practically every kid I know show me this truth all the time. They have to depend on adults to take care of them. Adults do not always do this well, of course, but the dependence these kiddos have, well, it makes me want to be like them. It reminds me of Jesus saying "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." -Mark 10:14 I want to be like that in my faith. 


               

New baby Dunghana

Proud big sister!