"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb." Ps. 139:13
My baby is five years old today. It amazes me- not only what God does in knitting a person into existence, but what He knits into your family through their presence. The whole process of a family growing and His intentionality in it is absolutely amazing.
Have you ever thought about what each individual brings to the family as a whole. About what they bring to you?
When Julia was first born, she had a pretty bad case of colic. I can vividly remember one early morning (or late late night!) up bouncing & walking with her while she screamed away, as she had already done for the 3 hours prior to my shift with her. She had already gone through Jason's shift and my mom's shift with no relief. I was tired, and this was pretty much the Julia we had known up until that point, and I found myself tiredly, but very seriously wondering, "Will I ever even like this child?"
I hated having that thought. I have reflected on that moment many times since the colic passed, and laughed. Not only would I like her, ... I had sorely underestimated how much she would capture the heart of everyone in our family.
With her, God knit into us as a family a WHOLE new level of affection. With her He brought us new sensitivity... new artistic talent.... conscientiousness.... hugging.... drama....mischeiveousness...more hugging.... singing.... confidence.... shyness..... laughter....DRAMA....and more hugging. Jason's always been affectionate, but Julia managed to drag affection out of Eli and I that we didn't know was possible, -simply by her existence and expectation of it's normalcy. I remember the first few years when it became apparent that she gave and expected a lot of affection. You can't tell a two year old that her brother doesn't always like hugs or being touched. And to this day, she can draw more spontaneous affection out of him than just about anyone. God knew we needed that... and knit it in her. :-)
She is an amazing creative, beautiful blessing. She is one more manifestation of His creativity, and His goodness towards us.
Happy Birthday Jules!
9 comments:
Amazing Family, and a beautiful little girl. Thank you all for staying up late last Friday, and for all that you did in organizing. I am so glad it out grew your house:) It was a blessing, and a time that filled up a spot in many of our hearts.
HAPPY BERTDAY JULIA!
Amy G
She is such an incredibly gorgeous little girl!! I can't believe how quickly they grow up. Happy Birthday to Julia!
Beautiful Pictures! :-)
Happy Birthday, Julia!!!
Such sweet deep brown eyes...i really enjoyed meeting her on Friday night. Happy Birthday Julia!!!! Heather, thanks for all the work you did to get all of us together for a reunion. My heart is full and happy. Thanks for all the goofy, silly talk at 2:00 AM around the table in the kitchen! I have no idea what we talked about, but it was a blast! Love you Thortons!!!!
Your daughter is beautiful! Hope your day was amazing and God-filled to the rim.
Peace
Neva
That's one sweet little darlin'. And it's incredible to see traces of God's best in you forming in her. Y'all are great parents!
I have to echo a big thanks as well... You guys made AIM-a-palooza a reality and made so many folks happy to get together... Bless you for that.
What a fun little girl. Happy birthday Julia.
And like the rest... Thanks so much for Friday! What fun. I really thought there would be 12. Who knew? Thank you guys so much for all the work you did to bless so many of us. That was my highlight of the weekend.
I love your post - and your kids are beautiful! I can't believe how big they are already. We sure would have loved to have been with you last weekend - sounds like everyone had a great time! So glad everyone was so encouraged.
Take care,
Carolyn
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