Saturday, January 10, 2009

Is there life after birth?


(Our little Wiggles, moments after her entrance into the world)

Maybe you've read this before, but I hadn't and I found it thought-provoking!

"A womb had twins growing in it. Their joy grew in proportion with their consciousness: "Isn't it wonderful to be alive?", said one to the other one day. "Oh yes," said the one spoken to. Over time the twins began to discover their world. In the process they found the cord that connected them to their mother and fed them.
Delightedly they said: "How great must be the love of our mother that she shares her own life with us!" Weeks passed that way and they noticed themselves changing. "What does it mean that we are changing over time?" one of them asked the other.

He answered: "It means that our time in this world will be over soon."

"But I don't want to go," replied the other and added: "Do you actually believe in life after birth?"

"Yes, it exists. Our life here is only meant for us to grow and to prepare us for life after birth, so that we will be strong enough for what awaits us."

"Nonsense, that is not possible. What is that supposed to look like anyway, life after birth?"

"I don't know exactly either. But it will certainly be brighter than here. And maybe we will walk around and eat with our mouths?"

"What nonsense! Walking around, that's impossible. And eating with the mouth, what a strange idea! We have the umbilical cord that feeds us, and it's too short for walking around even now."

"No, it's definitely possible. Everything is just going to be a little different!"

"We are going to lose our life cord. But how are we going to live without it? Others before us may have left this mother's womb, but none of them came back and told us that there is life after birth. No, birth is the end, I am absolutely sure! Nobody has ever come back from 'after birth.' Life ends at birth, afterwards everything is dark and torture." The one then fell into a deep grief and said, "If conception ends with birth, what purpose does life in the mother's womb have? It's senseless. Maybe there is no mother?"

"But she has to exist," the other argued, "how else would we have gotten here? And how would we have stayed alive? Even if I don't know exactly what life after birth is going to look like, we will at least see our mother then and she will take care of us."

"Mother? You believe in a mother? Tell me, have you ever seen our mother?" asked the first one. "Maybe she only lives in our imagination, and we just made her up in order to better understand our life. Where is she supposed to be?"

"Well, here, all around us. We are and live inside her and through her. Without her we cannot be."

"Nonsense! I have never experienced a mother, so she doesn't exist."

"But sometimes, when we are really quiet, you can hear her sing. Or feel her touch our world..."
The last days in the mother's womb were filled with many questions and big fears. Finally the moment of birth arrived. When the twins left their world, they opened their eyes and what they saw exceeded their boldest dreams and imagination."

~Author Unknown

Monday, January 05, 2009

We Love our GG!


The kids are having a great time in Oregon and we make sure to visit GG (great-grandma) every day so she doesn't get lonely! Here she is with 3 of her great-grandkids (the 4th is in the background in Aunt Abbie's arms!)

Unto Us a Child is Born



"For unto us a child is born" had an extra special meaning to our family this year, as our little wiggles joined our family shortly before Christmas. Our kids LOVED having a "real, live baby Jesus" for our own little rendition of the nativity story this year. They were SO adorable - Angel was so gentle and motherly, carefully holding little Wiggles, while Grins reminded us "I'm Jo-fuf" and continually pulled his headband off. Not an entirely quiet or reverent rendition, but very touching indeed! I'm so grateful for the holiday season in which we pause to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!