Adeline Grace

This is the column I've been waiting to write. Waiting and begging. Believe it or not, I secure permission from my family before discussing their lives with you. Several months ago, I approached my daughter Lauren with today's topic. She asked me to wait until she was ready. And now that she's ready, I've discovered something she wrote in March for one of her college courses. The topic was "Falling in Love." As I read it, I realized that after all the months I waited to write, I still won't, for it is Lauren's own words I'll use. "Over eight billion. That's how many results are found on the internet when the word love is typed on the Google search engine. Love quotes, songs about love, and scriptures pertaining to love will all be displayed and with one single click on the link, you can discover things you may know or may not know about the word love. Unfortunately, sometimes out of those eight billion results, you'll begin to see that not all of the feedback will be positive because not all of our experiences with love will be the happily ever after dream we've dreamed since we were little. More times than not, it seems like we have more wicked witches in our lives than Prince Charmings, and that's just it. We automatically relate love to a relationship between a man and a woman and forget that there are many forms of love. Parents, siblings, and friends are all 'loved ones,' showing the many variations of love. "Lots of questions arise when the word love is mentioned and the following is a popular one: 'What's true love?' I wish I had a dollar for every time I laugh out loud when somebody asks me about anything love or relationship related. I respond, 'Listen to what I say rather than follow in my footsteps. I give good advice, I just don't take it.' Let's just say, it took me a lot longer to find out what it's like to be in love than it should have, but now that I'm head over heels, I guess I can tell you what it's like. "I've never laid eyes on my true love yet, my only real love. I can't listen to the voice or even stare in the eyes of my love, but I can hear a heartbeat. I feel movements all over, and literally have to catch my breath from the constant jabs in my ribs. I've only seen a black and white image on a screen in a doctor's office, and even then, he has to point out her different features for me to recognize what I'm looking at. She's growing just right, and according to the doctor, will be completely healthy at the time of delivery. Yes, I'm in love with my baby girl. Some people don't fall in love until they've been on several dates, but she's stolen my heart from the very beginning, and eight months later, we're still going strong. "When you're in love, you are constantly considering the other person's desires before your own. Every time I ask the waiter for water instead of Dr. Pepper, I know that it must be love for me to sacrifice caffeine. For me, being in love means walking into Gap Kids before the Gap, discussing baby names instead of names of current dating contenders, and eating what my baby needs rather than what I want. "It's hard to forget I'm in love when I have someone inside of me constantly reminding me of her presence with every kick, punch, or hiccup. Every movement is a reminder of life. A life I love, value, and treasure." "Of over eight billion love suggestions, I only need one: Adeline Grace." On April 26th, Adeline's first breath took mine away. She has snuggled into the hearts of our family and friends as we vie for her attention. Lauren has responded to this new life, this new love, with more calmness and confidence than she has ever had. As she faces the challenges of single parenthood, I pray she yields to the wisdom of God for every decision. And I pray for Adeline to have a strong neck. She needs one to support all of the big ole hair bows Lauren makes her wear. Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com