One of my favorite books is Cries of the Spirit, an anthology of women's spiritual poetry that I believe was put out by the Unitarian Universalist Association. I recall reading in the introduction to one of the sections, that gratitude is the most basic spiritual impulse.
I've been feeling very grateful lately, both for my lovely daughter (photo below), and for all the support we have, from family and friends both near and far.
Watching Quinn grow does remind me of two things on an almost daily basis: how amazing it is that human beings work, and how utterly dependent they are when they're new. I'm so very grateful that Quinn has been healthy and strong, that all her parts "work."
I also think I'm going to have to start re-thinking what it means to think about God as a parent. My mother said that you really understand how God is a father (her words, not mine ;) ) when you become a parent, because God loves you like you love your children, not like your parents loved you (because, of course, each of us knows the failings and imperfections in the love of our human parents). I haven't yet had the time or right kind of energy to integrate this into my theology yet, but I think that utter dependence of infants is in some sense parallel to our utter dependence on God.
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