When was the last time you held a baby, looked into her eyes, and beheld the face of God? It's an incredible feeling isn't it—to hold life so innocent, so new, so hopeful. It's as if holding a child brings life into our own souls and reintroduces us to the miracle of God's love.    

As a minister I often go up to the hospital maternity ward to visit new parents, grandparents, and friends experiencing this kind of love for the first time. It rekindles my spirit to see such love and grace, particularly if there are other, more desperate lives on my rounds.

After I leave the room of a cancer victim or someone who has died, the newborn child brings me hope and reminds me of the gift of life in a time when all seems dark, dreadful and depressing.    

But more importantly, seeing the child held in the loving arms of another, someone looking deep within the child, reminds me that I am God's child and that God is always looking at me with those same loving eyes.

No matter what happens, God is staring deep within me, holding me, giving thanks, and breathing the spirit of life into me. God is with me, not as some distant, uninterested divinity, but as a present, abiding presence in my life.

Will hard times still come? Will disappointment reign at times? Yes indeed. But God will be with me, experiencing my life, and holding me through it all.    

That is Good News. Very good news.