"He will rejoice over you . . . "

I’m sure most parents can identify with this, but one of Camille and my favorite things to do is to simply watch Camden as he sleeps in his crib at night. Last night we enjoyed that for a minute or two before we went to bed. We just stood next to his crib, looking down at his tiny, motionless body—oblivious to any worries, anxieties, or cares of the world. Such innocence!

One of the other things that warms my heart, for some reason, is when we are driving in the car late at night and he is fast asleep in his car seat. Last Sunday evening, we drove back from Maine fairly late and the weather was less than ideal—to say the least. There was rain mixed with a little sleet crashing down upon our windshield, but as I steered the car in the direction of home, Camden was in his car seat, fast asleep. He had nothing to fear. Whether he realized it or not, it seemed as though he simply trusted his father to bring him safely to his destination.

All this reminds me of a wonderful passage in Zephaniah. “In that day,” Zephaniah writes, “it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save: He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

I can just picture God right now: much like Camille and I standing over Camden at night, rejoicing over him, so God does the same with us. Every night. He quiets us with His love. He rejoices over us with singing. And, of course, He saves. He steers the “salvation car” in the right direction and gets us safely to our destination.

Such an image is what you’d call “priceless.” And it softens my heart to the wonderful overtures of my Savior.