A very tender experience.

So these past few days, I was in Dallas for a youth ministry conference. Since it was such a short trip, I flew of course. As I was boarding the plan on Monday morning to leave El Paso for the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, I had the sweetest encounter.

If you've ever flown, you know that there's a place before you board the plane to put strollers and wheelchairs. Well as I was walking up to the plane, there was a mom with her baby, two big bags of baby paraphernalia, and a big, bulky stroller trying to leave it at that designated place. I saw that she was struggling to fold up the stroller while juggling her daughter and the massive baby bags.

Thankfully, God instantaneously put it in my mind to offer help, so I did. I thought that maybe I could hold her bags or put away the stroller or something, but she told me that what would help her the most would be to hold her daughter for her. She didn't phrase it with such a descriptive question, but simply said "could you hold her for me?"

So I did. And it was the sweetest, most tender moment I think I've ever experienced.

I only held that baby for a few moments, maybe 15 seconds at most, but those few moments were the most heart-warming, tender, affectionate, loving moments I had ever had. I held her close to my chest and with her eyes locked on mine, I could feel her body warmth and could feel every beat of her precious little heart.

Without sounding like a weirdo baby stealer or something, I really loved that baby. I don't even know her name and will never see her again, but in that moment I felt, to the best of my ability, what I think I will feel when I have a child of my own. I wanted to protect her from the evil in this world. I wanted to hold her and snuggle with her and teach her and guide her and comfort her and just love her in the way that God created us to love each other.

Man ...I know I sound like a girl, but I just can't even describe how precious that experience was for me.

And now I can hardly wait until I have a son or daughter of my own. Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood that I can hold close to my heart and cherish and guide and comfort and love like Jesus loves me.


"How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!"