Here she comes,
Miss UniVerse,
Singing the One Song
We all recognize.

Close your eyes,
Hear past the cries,
And in the silence,
God sings with a new voice.

It is hers,
Your Love,
Your Baby.

No song is sweeter,
No love could be stronger.
Truly a Miracle!
God’s sacred gift.

She is your daughter.
She is our blessed sister.
Welcome!
We’ve been waiting.

For our family circle
Was not yet complete,
Not yet…
Perfect.

Now it is,
And we rejoice.
Now it is,
And we bow in prayer.

Dear God,
We are grateful,
And happy unto tears.

For Cindy & Steve Storck on the birth of their third child, March 8, 2001

He says, “I love you.”
She says, “I do, too.”
From that love
God fashions a miracle.

A child—
One part him,
One part her,
All parts loved.

Will he be a boy?
Or will she be a girl?
A blessing…
That much is sure.
 
For Cindy & Steve Storck on the morning before the birth of their third child, March 8, 2001

The nights are long.
The morning sun awakens too late
and departs too soon.
We yearn for summer days—
warmer, happier times.
But this is the start of winter.
This is a dark time of year.

Yet, we rejoice!
We are not in Depression’s grip
nor fooled by bleak predictions.
For we know God’s Truth.

Although the days are darker,
despite the landscape cold and bare,
today we begin
the return to the Light.

What manner of child
would be born on such a day?
A child to remind us…
that Light always returns.
  Within her eyes
we see the new life
that always springs from darkness.
We are afraid no more.

No matter how bleak,
no matter how frostbitten our heart,
how can we not know
there is a God, there is hope,
when we see this Solstice Child.

And so it was at her birth.
And so it remains today.
We are born from darkness
into Light… each day.
Let us remember.

Each smile,
Each breath,
Each and every laugh
returns us to the Light
that was born within us all.

Two thousand years ago
on a day at the dawn of winter,
a special boy was born.

In his heart he knew the secrets
to a life of joy, peace,
and everlasting love.

Know that this special son of yours
is no different.
He has within his heart
the magical powers
to heal the world.

As you build a life together,
seek out these qualities.
You will find them
in his smile,
in his laugh,
and in his cry.

Look beyond his tiny body,
and see all the glory of the Universe
that brought this special soul
to be your first born son.

May all the blessings of Christmas be with you both, and with your Child of Light, forever.

To Julie and Robbie on the birth of their son Kenny

I am a healer.
I bring my heart
and my skill to others
so that they may be released
from pain and fear.

I touch new life.
With knowing fingers
I bring forth children
into the world of breath
sunshine, and smiles.

I know the blessing
of these healing gifts
bestowed upon me by God.
Where I can help… I do.

I have given so much of myself
these past years
and been rewarded
in ways too sacred to describe.

Yet there is so much pain,
so many who need my strength,
my love, my gifts.

But now, it is time for me to heal,
to give to my Self and my family
the courage and the love
we now need.

So I rest,
and through what pain and dis-ease
comes my way,
I grow deeper compassion and
understanding—
for my Self
and all those whose lives I touch.

For Dr. Rita Payne, M.D., Ob-Gyn, September 5, 1994 (the doctor who delivered Jimmy & Rebecca, before her sabattical)

Beautiful baby girls
just like their Moms
are made of special spice.
They laugh and play,
giggle and smile,
and make the world so nice.

We need such girls
to heal the world,
to remind us all each day,
we’re here to laugh
and live with joy—
to love life in every way.

To Sandy V. on the birth of her daughter

She’s walked through the ages of life
twelve days behind me.
We were born in September,
I at the end of summer,
she at the beginning of fall.
And we’re as different
as those two seasons.

My cousin lived her youth
with the carefree dance
of the fall leaves—
bright and colorful,
joyfully moving
wherever the wind carried her.

Much of my youth
was filled with the heaviness
and seriousness
of a hot summer afternoon.
I envied her fun,
but judged her frivolous.
I thought life was a test,
and she was playing hooky.

Besides…
I didn’t know how to dance.

As the seasons of life
have gone round and round,
we’ve both learned to adapt
to the changing weather.

The heat of summer
slows the most active child.
And the coolness of fall
makes us all
want to play in the leaves.

So on this
the thirty-first time
I’ve won the birthday race,
I let her know
I’ve learned to dance
and look forward to sharing
a song or two
together.

To Karen, Born September 29, 1962
From Rick, Born September 17, 1962