The countdown is on.  The days seem to be flying by, one after the other, at what seems very equivalent to the speed of light.  As I am writing this we have less than 8 weeks before the arrival of our first child (I am reading through this carefully to make sure that I am not giving out any extra information).  As I sit and try to put into words all of the feelings and emotions that are currently swirling around my mind and my body I have found some pretty cool things to fill this page and hopefully give you something to think about.  The first word that comes to my mind is love.  This moment has brought for me a clear understanding about the measure of love that a parent feels for their child.  Even though she/he will not make the grand appearance for a few more weeks, I find that I am already overcome with feelings of love, care, and pride.  I wonder if this is only a small glimpse into what God felt when He made each of us.  David, in Psalm 139, writes: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  There is a real sense of awe and wonder from David in those words.  Our heavenly Father loved us long before we were ever born.  The fact is He knew us long before this world was created.  He looked forward through time and knew that there was no way He could love us more.  He loves us just as we are, and nothing can take that love away from His children.  God not only loves us, He is making preparations for us.  Over the last couple months or so, Michelle and I have been working hard to set up our spare room as a nursery.  Moving out furniture and replacing it with a dresser, crib, books, toys, clothes, and all of the other baby essentials.  We repainted the walls, hung a mobile, found wonderful pictures to adorn the walls, bought new lamps, and purchased a night light.  Why all of the preparation?  The answer is simple -because we are excited.  Why would we spend the time and the resources and go to such great lengths to transform the spare room into a nursery?  Again, the answer is pretty simple.  We love our child and we want to provide everything that we can for her/him.  In the book of John, chapter 14, Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  Michelle and I have put together a wonderful nursery (even if I do say so myself), and we have been working on it for a few months.  Imagine the place that God is preparing for us that He has been working on for thousands of years.  Why would He go through all of the trouble?  Because He is excited about His children and He loves us with an unconditional love. I must end this by stating something that is probably fairly obvious – I love our child and I can not wait for November to get here.  If I feel that way, and if you felt that way when your children were born, imagine how deep and strong and amazing God’s love is for each and every one of us.

Pastor Jeff