Pause

Children always share traits of their parents; there's no getting away from it, even when - usually as teenagers - we want to distance ourselves from our folks.

As a child of the Divine, what traits do you see in yourself that reveal something of your heavenly Parent? In these next few moments, take a look at yourself in the mirror of Scripture and see the lines of your glorious heritage there.

Listen

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

Psalm 8:1-2

Think

Babies fight crime.

Seriously. A study in Scotland found that lost wallets with baby pictures in them were returned 88 percent of the time, compared to just 15 percent for wallets with no pictures. What makes these tiny heroes so effective?

God Almighty, creator and ruler of the universe, counts infants as powerful allies.

And why not? Just seeing a picture of one can transform a person’s intentions from selfish to helpful. Babies make us want to be better, which always means drawing closer to God and closer to being the person God knows we can be.

If a little baby can have this effect on people, let’s not be in too big a hurry to grow up.

Sarah Councell Turner

Pray

Dear God, thank you for making the world new again in every new life. Help me keep that sense of newness and wonder in my own life, and keep me close to you. Amen.

Go

Day by day,
Oh, dear Lord
Three things I pray:
To see thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
Follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.

Richard of Chichester, adapted