For nine long months, while my daughter was safely tucked away in my womb, she heard me sing! It came as no surprise that my voice is a soothing tool used to calm her down or help her fall asleep. But I was unprepared for the overwhelming sense of love that bonded us the night I realized she knew my voice. The voice of her mama!
If you know anything about newborn babies, you know their sleep patterns are unpredictable. The one predictable thing about my daughter is her nocturnal tendencies around 8 pm. As I am ready to wind down for the night she is gearing up for a two-and-a-half-hour bedtime battle. Rock, feed, sing, repeat for hours! Finally, after we are both completely exhausted, she surrenders to sleep.
One evening, I was holding the baby out in front of me as I mindlessly sang one of my favorite church hymns. As her eyes met mine, she studied my face. It felt like she was connecting the voice she had heard all that time inutero with my face; the face of her mama! Tears welled in my eyes as we sat gazing at one another, soaking in each second of that love-filled moment. A moment I could relive over and over!
I sat meditating on that beautiful moment during prayer. Struck with conviction, I pondered the reality of myself gazing at my Heavenly Father. Do I look to Him the same way my daughter looked at me? Do I intimately know God and acknowledge Him as my Father? Do I recognize His voice the same way that my baby recognizes mine? Or do I pay more attention to the voices of the world through social media, podcasts, and otherworldly platforms? My prayer that morning sounded something like this:
Heavenly Father, help me to gaze upon you the same way that my daughter looks at me. Allow me to know so deeply the love You have for me as my Father. Just as the love I have for my baby is free, grant me the knowledge to believe that I do not have to earn Your love. I pray that I may hear and recognize Your voice so that when the world comes knocking on my heart Your voice stands out.
As I finished writing those words in my journal, I felt the phrase “I am the good shepherd” probed my heart. I opened up my bible to John 10:14-15.
I am the good shepherd, I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know my Father.
The Lord used this extraordinary moment between my daughter and me to reveal His love and expertise in my heart! He knows each detail of my life more than I know my daughter. Even though I may not always recognize His voice or pay attention to His movements in my life, He claims me as His beloved daughter. He reminded me that I know Him as my father just as He knows me.
Isn’t it beautiful that the Lord gives us holy moments that reflect His love for us? I encourage you to reflect on a profound memory and ask the Lord what He trying to reveal to you.
Until Next Time~Your Sister in Christ,
Abby