4 Lessons From My First DAY With My Grandbaby! And One Warning…

She is here!!!

Sophia Joy arrived and I am completely undone in the best possible way.

I have been waiting for this little person for a long time. A really long time. And now that she is here I have approximately one million feelings and it’s tough to articulate them all.

But I also have four lessons and one warning that I wanted to share with you.

So here we go.

Lesson #1: Sometimes what feels extreme is just God cleaning up the mess.

Sophia's mama needed a shower. This grandma was more than happy to take over.

Sweet little Sophia had a dirty diaper and there was absolutely no way I was going to let my brand new granddaughter sit in that for one second longer than necessary. So I got to work.

I got her all cleaned up.

And then before I had the new diaper on her she proceeded to poop approximately five times more than was in the first diaper.

I am not exaggerating.

So there I am, starting the whole process over, and this tiny little peanut is protesting. LOUDLY. And I completely understand why. She is brand new to this world and a cold wet wipe on her little bottom is not exactly a welcome introduction to life outside the womb.

I started talking to her. I said “hey Sophia, I know. I know this is uncomfortable. But I am just trying to clean up the mess!”

And I could not help but think about how often we do exactly what Sophia did to God.

We protest. Loudly. Because what He is doing sometimes feels cold and uncomfortable, we don’t understand it… and frankly a little extreme.

But what seems extreme to us could just be God trying to clean up our lives.

We do not understand what He is doing. We cannot see the clean diaper and cuddles waiting on the other side. We just feel the cold cleaning process and we do not like it one bit.

But it is for our good. Even when it is uncomfortable. Even when we are protesting at the top of our lungs.

I got that clean diaper on as fast as I could and got her all snuggly and warm and she went straight back to sleep.

He does that for us too. After all, He is our peace. 💙

Lesson #2: Some moments deserve to stop the world.

When my younger son and his wife arrived at the hospital we all went quiet.

Just for a moment. All of us standing there taking in this brand new beautiful life that had not existed outside of her mama's belly until today.

There were things I should have been doing that day. A list somewhere. Responsibilities. The normal machinery of life waiting to be tended to.

I did not care even a little bit.

I actually said out loud: “the world stopped today for Sophia Joy. And that is perfectly okay.”

Honestly, someone could have called me to tell me my house was burning down and I would have said well that is a real bummer I hope the fire department gets there soon. But I would not have left that hospital.

This moment only happens once. And I was not going to miss it.

Here is what I want to ask yourself:

What moments are you missing because you have not decided they are extraordinary enough to stop for?

I know not everything is on the level of a brand new grandbaby arriving in the world. But I genuinely believe we get so caught up in our routines and our to-do lists and the relentless forward motion of ordinary life that we lose the wonder and awe that actually exists in our days.

Beauty is there. In the ordinary Tuesday. In the phone call with your friend. In the quiet morning before anyone else wakes up. In the meal around the table. In the goodbye hug before someone leaves your house.

Stop long enough to actually be there for it.

You will not get that moment back. 💙

Lesson #3: The joy of others compounds your own.

I am overjoyed to be a grandma. That part I expected.

What I did not fully anticipate was how watching the people I love become new things would absolutely wreck me in the best possible way.

Watching Travis become a grandpa? The sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life. It made me fall in love with him all over again in a way I did not see coming.

Watching my younger son become an uncle? I cannot even find the words. The way he looked at her. The way he held her. This strong young man completely melted by this tiny little person.

It filled something in me I did not even know needed filling.

Joy shared is joy multiplied. And joy witnessed is sometimes even sweeter than joy experienced directly.

Pay attention to the people around you becoming new versions of themselves. It is one of the most beautiful things life offers. 💙

Lesson #4: You are loved FAR beyond what you can possibly comprehend.

As I held Sophia I kept thinking about how she has absolutely no idea about so many things.

No idea how many people already adore her. How many prayers have been prayed over her before she ever took her first breath. How many people would move heaven and earth for her without a second thought.

She has done nothing to deserve any of it. She does not have to. She never will have to.

She is just flat out loved. Completely. Unconditionally. Abundantly.

And I could not stop thinking about how God loves YOU exactly like that.

There is nothing you can do to get on His good side. You are already there. The amount He loves you right now is the same as before you took your very first breath. It did not increase because you did something impressive. It did not decrease because you failed.

He just loves you. So completely. So abundantly. So far beyond what you will ever be able to fully take in.

Yes He wants your obedience. But not because it makes Him love you more. Because He loves you so much He wants what is genuinely good for you. Obedience is good for YOU not a performance for HIM in order to be loved.

You are Sophia. Held and adored and completely covered by a love you did nothing to earn. 💙

And now the warning…

You already know about my come to Jesus moment almost a decade ago.

The weeping in 2017. The terrifying question of whether I would ever be strong enough to hold my grandbabies. The decision I made that day that even if it took ten years I was not going to stop.

That day is here.

And as I held Sophia Joy in that hospital room I thought about something that made tears come to my eyes.

What if I had waited?

What if I had told myself I have plenty of time and I will get that sorted out later? What if I had not been completely committed to being as strong and healthy as I possibly could be for this moment?

This day would have looked very different.

And not different in a good way.

Friend, I am holding my granddaughter today because a decade ago I made a decision that today’s me would be grateful for.

So let me ask you the question:

What thing in your future will not look the way you want it to if you do not do something TODAY?

Not tomorrow. Not when things settle down. Not when you feel ready.

Today.

Because today always becomes the decade ago that either prepared you for the moment or didn't.

Sophia Joy is my proof that it is worth it!!!

Every hard day. Every setback. Every moment I wanted to quit and didn't.

Worth it. 💙

In passionate purpose,
Dorothy

Father,

Thank You for Sophia Joy.

Thank You for keeping Your promise. For the decade of hard work and harder days and moments that prepared me. For being faithful even when I could not see what You were building.

Thank You that You love us the way I love this little girl. Completely. Unconditionally. Without reservation and without limit. Help us to actually believe that on the days when it feels impossibly far away.

Help us to stop for the extraordinary moments hiding inside our ordinary days. Help us to pay attention to the beauty that already exists in the life You have given us.

And for the woman reading this who knows there is something she has been putting off, something her future self is going to desperately need her present self to start today, give her the courage to begin and the determination to be consistent.

She does not have time to wait.

And You will be with her every single step of the way.

In Jesus' mighty name,

Amen.