Your Love Oh Lord is more intoxicating than wine!
There is a glass of wine sitting on the table in front of me, it is sweet, red and slightly smokey on the palate. It is not the kind of wine I usually drink, I usually prefer a dryer wine however this wine was gift for my birthday and over the last few days I have enjoyed sharing it with Greg and Michelle who gave it to me in the first place. It was not a bottle of wine I would have picked out myself, however I find myself thoroughly enjoying it. As I sit here thinking back on this past year of Mystery the wine seems like an apt metaphor for the little girl who turns one one on Saturday. If I had had the choice I would never have chosen do drink of this cup, but then I didn’t chose, instead God in his infinite love and kindness gave me this gift. She is somewhat like the wine, she is sweet, intoxicating and beautiful. (not red though, she is more of a Rosée 🙂 )
Those first few days after Mystery’s birth last year were some of the most painful and some of the most wonderful days of my life. Mystery represents so much to Debbie and I. She is the fulfillment of one journey and the beginning of another. The pain of finding out that Mystery had been born with Down Syndrome is mingled with the taste of the grace that God poured out so liberally in that week. When I was a very small boy, I would sometimes sleep in my mother’s bed when I was afraid or needing comfort, this time last year when the pain was so strong I not only dwelt in the heavens I got to sleep in Papa God’s bed. Like I say it was not a glass I would have chosen, but all the same there was a glory in it.
What has the last year been like? Normal. Living with Mystery is one of the most normal things in the world. She is so loved inside our family and outside but the thing which has struck me most in some ways is just how normal she is. She is just a treasured little girl. She has added immeasurably to our family. Every one of us is in love with her. Not only that but she seems to draw love out of people around her. There are times when as I watch someone else interacting with her that I catch a glimpse of the beauty of love. Watching my wife’s delight as Mystery smiles often steals my breath away and reminds me of how kind God has been to me to give me such a woman. Or when I watch my son Daniel who is daily shedding the last shreds of his boyhood and trying on the strength of adolescence, curb his power and gently love his sister. I see the love in his eyes the unconditional acceptance they have for each other and I find myself seeing the lion hidden in the cub. Almost every morning Jessica looks after Mystery so that her mother can try catch up on some of the sleep she lost in the night, as a result she has become in many ways Mystery’s second mommy, I get to watch the mother she will one day be. She is tenderhearted, loving strong and wise beyond her years. I reflect on Gods goodness to us that despite the mistakes we made as two young parents with this first born child she has grown to be the beautiful budding woman she is. My little Jemima, with her passion and delight in life adores her baby sister with whom she now shares a room, every morning she awakes early and tip toes out to the lounge leaving Mystery in her dreams, a feat which is semi miraculous for the garrulous little tornado that she is. Jemima’s enthusiastic love for Mystery is beautiful even if it is often overwhelming.
Writing this I can’t help but be grateful for the little girl who burst into our lives last year. In one short year she has changed my world, and I grow increasingly convinced she will somehow change all our worlds. I am seeing more of the heart of God, his goodness, and his kindness.
It is wonderful to live with Mystery, to await the face of promises yet to be fulfilled when you realize that God is so good he will always come through. So wherever you are this Saturday, won’t you take a moment to stop and toast the birth of Mystery. Fill your glass with the red, sweet wine of God’s intoxicating love, drink it down till fire burns in your belly and joy lights up your eyes. Cheers! 🙂
