Smiles of Praise

Cooper is now almost 8 weeks old. For a couple of weeks now, he's been smiling and laughing--NOT because of gas, and not just in his sleep--smiling and laughing as he looks around the room and as we talk to him. And oh, what a delight it is! His smiles have the power to immediately make us smile and laugh in turn, and change your perspective in a wonderful way.

I didn't realize just how wonderful it was until I was reading during my devotional time the other morning. Cooper was hanging out in his bouncy seat as I finished my breakfast and Scripture reading. I was reading out loud to keep him entertained, of course. (By the way, Solomon's words of wisdom don't have quite the same authority when spoken in "baby talk".) As I wandered over to Psalms, I decided to share one of my favorites with him. I love Psalm 8, mainly because of the choral anthem that I grew up hearing, "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name", that is based on it. As I read, I noticed a sentence that I know was there all along, because in the song it says "little children praise you perfectly". But the exact wording from Scripture had never impacted me like this before. It says: "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise..." (wait--here's the reason why!) ..."because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." How amazing is that? God has ordained praise from children and infants--from my little son--in order to silence the avenger. Silence the avenger! Wow! Now those are some powerful coos and giggles! I sit (on the floor) in awe of the power of this little wonder of God's creation. And every sound he utters is praise to my God. Makes me think twice about popping that pacifier in his mouth so quickly! Praise on, my sweet son! Praise on!