Blessed Baby

This morning I woke up thinking "in less than 11 hours, we will have our first home study visit."
The anxiety of this thought dominated my attention as we made our way to church and settled in the pew.
Shortly after we arrived, S came in with her three young grandsons, S (4), B (2), and N (8 months). I had not seen N since his baptism on Easter sunday, and he has grown so much since then! He is a beautiful, alert baby boy. I confess that my focus from that point on was not on the liturgy, but on N.
Then something God-sent happened.
S handed N to me.
I held him throughout the rest of the worship service, relinquishing him only once, to R (dh) to hold.
From the moment little N was in my arms, all anxiety over the homestudy visit dissapated- I could feel the tension leave my body, replaced with a joyous content infused with the smell and feel of that little baby boy in my arms.
During the Eucharist, I held him in my arms, nuzzled his neck, and closed my eyes in a prayer of thanks to God, that on this day of anxiety and tension, a baby boy was placed in my arms to remind me what this whole process of gathering paperwork, meeting with social workers, and writing checks was all about: the blessing of a baby in my arms.