New Beginnings!

I guess when you think about it, each and every day is a new beginning, but today had an extra touch of special-ness and mystery about it.

Today my beloved and I were accepted into membership by Letter of Transfer from Trinity Lutheran in Delta to St. Paul's Lutheran in Maple Ridge. New friendships to be forged, I'm sure. New opportunities to help the community at large are there but for the signing up to do so. New experiences, yet similar too of course from our former church(s), to be lived.

This transfer as it turns out happened on the last day of the church year, saying goodbye to an old parish especially at this time of year seems appropriate. Next Sunday is the start of the church's new year, First Advent.

The congregation is most welcoming including having a cake for us to cut and share. We even had our picture taken as we cut it, just like the day we got married! When we left church today we were happy. Happy to again have a church home, a sense of belonging, which as you can tell from this posting is especially important to us, to an old council chair like my beloved and an old church lady (secretary) like me for many, many years.

After church we took a short 3 minute drive down the street to the local hospital where we met a family also celebrating new beginnings. A dear friend, Cynthia and her husband Mike, delivered a very special, precious, healthy, baby boy yesterday. His name is Jack.

When we arrived, the door was partially closed and we tapped on it, not wanting to disturb, but we heard a welcoming "come in". Sitting up in a chair, was this beautiful, radiant woman, most certainly not looking like she'd gone through anything as wonderful and exhausting and exhilarating as delivering a baby! And baby Jack, a picture of perfection with his perfectly shaped little head, his lovely peaches and cream complexion which his daddy assures us, is like that all over his tiny, perfect little body. He looked so cozy sleeping in his bassinet all bundled up in a blue flannel blanket. Perfection through and through. He looked so cozy, so peaceful. Offers were made to us to pick him up, but we didn't have the heart to disturb him, he looked far too cozy. We satisfied ourselves with many peeks and oooowwwws and awwwwwws. So darling, so adorable.

A sneak peak of Jack and his Mommy and Daddy and the two stuffies his big brother thought would be a perfect welcoming gift for a little brother!

Jack was exactly 24 hours old when we visited and Cynthia and Mike were waiting for the lab people to come so that he could have his "going home" tests. Waiting anxiously to take him home to his brother and his sister, to his grandparents, to life, to new experiences, new beginnings. The wonder of it all, the mystery of it all. Life is good!

Dear little Jack we wish you a joyous, happy life, one I hope that will be filled with great love and fulfillment. The world awaits you, be a good steward of all of the great gifts awaiting your discovery. Welcome to your world!