God Knows His Own Love For You

“Now you know.”

They were the only words

I could choke out

As I handed baby Mia

To my baby Bennett

On the first day of her life on earth.

It seemed yesterday

That I first held our baby boy—

Twenty-eight years gone in a blink

But the memory of holding our firstborn

Flooded my consciousness:

A powerful, inward commemoration

Of the pervasive, sweeping transformation

Of a father’s heart

That has been ravaged by the raw

Protective love that longs for good

In the child’s life so profoundly

That the dad would lay down his life

For the good of the child

Without thought or delay.

There is a love too deep for words

That arises by design in the parent’s heart

Upon first sight of the helpless baby—

A love that can’t be comprehended by an outsider.

That’s what I meant when I handed Mia

Back into her father’s arms, saying,
“Now you know.”

“I know the thoughts I have for you,”

Says the Lord (Jeremiah 29:11).

Rest in His arms, child of God,

And know that God alone knows

The depth of love He has for you.