A New December Child

I drove over the Ortega Mountains this week, between rainstorms, to see an old roommate who had a baby, a precious lamb named Lainey. In my solitude on the ascent, before I arrived in Newport I was overwhelmed at the miracle I was about to meet. Lainey was a sweet Christmas angel and I was glad to share my birth month with her, telling her that it was the best one of the year, considering another very special birth it cradles in it's solstice. I don't know how to explain the love I had for little Lainey, but it culminated in my experience going back home over the mountains.

In Southern California the week was drenched in downpour: heavy rain on Monday and rain and snow on Wednesday. I love a good windy road and I love driving it alone with my thoughts. This leg of the trip Sara Groves accompanied me and I was again overwhelmed...at the fullness of God's majesty. Coming down off the east side I descended on Lake Elsinore, with Big Bear in front of me. The sun was low, but not yet set, the sky cleared by rain and the pink-orange glow on the snow peaked mountain was breathtaking.

And I thought to myself how awesome God is in his creativity: from a beach to mountains and a glassy lake all in an hour...the sight was arresting. And yet, have I ever been arrested so profoundly by his most incredible creation--a person? Are we ever again so awe-inspiring beyond our own infancy? Could I ever be that person who another meets and whose breath is taken away at God's majesty? That surely is an honorable goal.