So God Loves Me That Much?

I'll try and keep this third part short and sweet. No need to complicate and over explain something that is so simple. We tend to do that when God wants to show us something or tell us something.

...Once everything settled down at the hospital, and all the family and friends went back to work, we were left alone in a hospital room as one happy family. Just letting it all sink in. The middle part of that second day at the hospital it was just us; me, mommy, and baby. With visitors in and out, and then nurses in and out, it was rare that the 3 of us were left alone. But I remember that moment when everything lined up just right. No family, no friends, no nurse, and no doctors. I figure God was there with us the entire time, but He was waiting until He had my full attention.

Hospital beds aren't the best place to cuddle up with a family of 3, but under the circumstances we didn't have much of a choice. I just wanted to climb in the bed with my wife and baby , and just be together. Close together. All wrapped up in each other arms together. Heather painfully tried to scoot over to make some room. She already had Faith in her arms. It was that way most of the time. But I managed to squeeze myself in the bed with them. Ahhhhh.

The 3 of us just sat there in silence. Me and Heather both staring at Faith, while she dreamed peacefully. Within seconds of soaking up that feeling...that overwhelming feeling of love for one person who had just been born the day before...tears began to roll out of the corners of my eyes and down my cheeks. I've never loved anything or anyone the way I felt for this tiny baby girl. Forever, she is part of me. Forever, I'll love her no matter what. Forever, she will be mine. My heart, in that moment, was overflowing with love. It was finally sinking in....I was a father!

Heather could feel the emotion I guess. She was in such a position where she had to turn her head around to see the tears streaming down my face. Then she cried. Both of us overwhelmed with love.

Then it all hit me...I finally understood...

This is how much God loves me (maybe more). This is the kind of love that God has for me. I finally felt what fatherly love feels like. What it feels like to love your child. Instead of just accepting the idea that God loved me, now I could see so clearly the love He must have for me.

Before that moment, I had always heard, "God loves you, God loves you, God loves you," over and over. After a while I'm like, "ok, ok, I got it...He loves me, oh He loves me so..."

A huge part of Christianity is coming to the realization that "God SO loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son."

The only love I had to compare it to, was the love I had for my wife. And quite frankly, it weirded me out to think God might love me like a love my wife! So, I just put the idea of God loving me in a box. In that box of things you just don't understand. I've never questioned whether God truly loved me or not, but I just couldn't wrap my head around what that meant or looked like.

Now, I know. Or at least I have a pretty good idea of what fatherly love is. It's the kind of love that celebrated like crazy when your child is born. It's love that cries happy tears. It's love that forgives. It's love that sees only the best in their children. It's love that feels good knowing your child needs you. It's a love that's like no other. And apparently that's the same way God loves me!

I want to be a father to my new baby girl, like my Heavenly Father is to me. I'l probably fall way short of that, but that's my goal.  I'll lean on Him for wisdom in those moments when I'm not sure what to do or say.  But most importantly, I'll just chose to love her, no matter what.

And now that I can almost wrap my head around what it feels like to be a father and love my daughter in that way...I can't wait to see what she will teach me.  I want to re-learn that childlike love.  I want to be able to love my Father, like Faith will love me.