December 3rd 2006: Firstborn

She was my firstborn. When she arrived, I held her straight after she was born, and a grace and blessing came into my life. I'd listened to her tiny heart beat, long before she arrived, racing away in the blackness, in the dark warm security of love, held by God and known by God and understood by God. And suddenly, she was in my arms: this life, this person, this tiny baby.

We took her home, and we had become a family. We watched her grow. She brought us joy.

She is one of three children, and I have no favourites. Each has their own identity. Each one brings particular joy to my life. I love each one of my children without preference or compromise. Each in a unique and special way. That's why I can say, without hurt to any other, that she was and will always be my firstborn, and I will always love her.