Momma, Isn't He Beautiful?!

I saw my Momma yesterday....

Those of you who know me or have followed this journey for a while are probably wondering how that could be. You see, on January 3, 2011 I was standing in my kitchen in Edmonds, Washington preparing dinner for my family when my phone rang. It was my sister calling from Texas. My mom and her sister had been in a car accident. Aunt Jo passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital; Momma was being airlifted to a hospital in Dallas. She was kept on life support until I could get there and we could say our final goodbye. We had a double funeral for these two sisters who had done everything together for more than 80 years.

Last night, my oldest son Matthew and his wife, Ally had their first child. Little James Steven was born weighing in at 9 pounds, 5 ounces! Matthew told me that when he was born, he looked at him and said, "I have a two year old!" But he is a beautiful little boy. He has Ally's chin and Matthew's nose, an amazing blend of these two precious parents.

Momma would have loved this little child. As we were driving to the hospital I was thinking about her, wishing she could be here to see him. And I am convinced that she does see him.

...And I saw her last night.

Whenever Momma took a bite of something that she didn't really like, she would furrow her brow, scrunch her eyes shut, wrinkle her nose and pooch out her lips. It was a look only Momma could make - until last night!

As I got ready to leave the hospital, I handed little James back to his daddy. He didn't really like being disturbed, but without making a sound, he furrowed his brow, scrunched up his little face, and pooched out his lips. I said to Matthew, "That's your Grandma Brown!" He said, "I know! He's done that before and I thought 'That's Grandma!'"

Matthew and Ally have just begun an amazing journey with this little one. But it is a journey that began generations ago.

"I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."

Genesis 17:7

This was the covenant God made with Abraham. My grandparents raised my parents in this covenant; my parents raised my sisters and me in this covenant. And my husband and I continued in this covenant with our children. Now it's their turn. This heritage of faith is being passed on to the next generation...an everlasting covenant. When Matthew posted the announcement on his face book page, he wrote, "Look out world, a new man of God just touched down!!"

As I sat there last night holding this precious new little life, I thought, "Momma, isn't he beautiful?" And with that scrunched up little face I heard her say, "Yes, sweetheart, he is!"