I Love You
From Pastor Cristy Olof
As a momma who has given birth 4 times and adopted twice, I can attest to the unconditional love a woman feels for her newborn baby that she is meeting face to face for the first time. The feeling is hard to describe - how you can love a tiny person you've never seen but have dreamt of for so long. How you can feel an emotional connection to a tiny person that only your body has been connected to but your heart has connected to long before they were conceived.
I LOVE YOU.
On October 6, 2025 I was honored to witness this pure love from an angle I never expected. I wasn't the momma giving birth, I was a bystander, a helper. I got to sit in the chair next to momma, cheering her on and holding her hand as the surgical team got baby out in less than a few minutes. Baby screamed to let us know she was out and all the way from the other room as if to let momma know she was alive and well! As soon as baby was good to go, they brought her to be held. I understood the significance of holding her first...momma on the table being cared for and sutured up. All I could do was pick up this tiny girl, admire her perfect features, and tell her Happy Birthday. I did not hold her close, but immediately put her up by momma's face. Then it happened...
I LOVE YOU in a whisper... over and over again momma said it. And with every I LOVE YOU, baby got quieter and began to turn to her momma's voice and tried to open her eyes.
In an instant I was reminded of the Love of God. He has an intense love for His creation. He has unconditional love for the babies, for us. He creates us and knows us even before the womb! He lovingly speaks over us, I LOVE YOU in a whisper and in a shout, He proclaims His love over and over to us. We just need to look, to listen, to turn to the Father's voice. In creation, in the family, the church, at the cross...
I LOVE YOU,
Cristy
