Love Begets Love

I sit on the floor near my Christmas tree to write this.  In the room right across from me, the baby is still napping, and I will let her sleep late this afternoon if she will, so that she will be happier at church.  We are meeting in the White Swan Longhouse for one of our last services before moving into our new building.  This is a big change for the ministry but God's timing is perfect.  The past few Sunday services have had to be cancelled because of the Longhouse being used for community events, and that feels to me like confirmation that the time has come.  As soon as the building is done, we will move in and it will be home for many children and youth in the community - the place of safety and refuge and comfort that they may not have had anywhere else all week. 

Nearby, two redheads and one brunette play happily with baby dolls.  The mothering they all do is so tender and it is a gift to watch each of them.  Especially sweet to watch is the way the sweet brunette nurtures her baby doll, and I see great significance at this softness in spite of the hardness and suffering she has already known her her short three years.  If I had more time to ponder and write, I would write more artistically.  But the smile on arrival for the afternoon and the arms snaked around my neck with whispered "I love you" in my ear make my heart sing and ache at the same time.  I love her too.  Love begets more love. And that is my prayer for this community of White Swan and the Yakama Reservation this Christmas season - that God would work miracles through the love sent by churches around the country to our dear ones here around us.