A Most Precious Gift From God

Yesterday Belinda and I attend our class to prepare to have Stella baptized.

We along with the Godparents are required to take a class to make sure that we are prepared to take on the responsibility of raising a child in the Catholic church.

During the class we talked about the symbols that are used when a child is baptised and about the idea of God's love for us. Despite the fact the deacon who was teaching the class could not hear a word, he did a good job explaining the significance of baptising our children. This was God washing away our sins and granting us eternal life in his church. It's such an important event that it seems somewhat strange that it happens at such a young age that no one would remember it. Of course there are the remaining sacraments that build on our baptism, but generally speaking nothing compares to initiations. During the deacon's lecture he described babies as "a most precious gift from God."

It seems that in all the "stresses" that come with having a new baby we often lose sight of how all those things are nothing more than a blessing. The realization that all our struggles are so trivial is never clearer than when Stella turns her little head to look at you. Stares at you for a moment as though she is figuring out who you are followed by a wonderful smile.

With all the things I write about I thought it was important to reflect on the fact that any of my complaining should be taken with a grain of salt. For Belinda and I both know that our life has been nothing but blessed by the birth of Stella. She has given new purpose to our life and new meaning to the idea of unconditional love. I thank God for his many gifts to us and especially for our most precious gift, Stella.