When Little Miss turned 3 years old, we bought her something we hoped would be a special gift she would enjoy for a long time... and has Carly ever been special to our little girl! Carly goes with us to church. She comes with us to the grocery store and to our friends' houses. I think she's been on nearly every camping trip we've been on since her arrival. As you can see below, Carly even gets her picture take while doing various activities.:)
Little Miss has had the same outfits for Carly for almost two years! I love that in spite of the fact that this doll now looks like she's low on oxygen and has stuck her hair into a light socket, she is this girl's favorite. She plays with her during her rest time, and gives me all kinds of updates throughout the day as to what Carly's doing, who her friends and cousins are, what makes her laugh, her likes/dislikes, etc... This doll is LOVED. (I can't help but think that Little Miss is going to be a wonderful and much more natural mother than her own is!) Our daughter doesn't notice or care that she's no longer the most beautiful doll. She's been given other dolls since Carly, but Carly remains her favorite. I love that about kids. Little Miss and her little brother don't ever care what WE as parents look like, what we wear, or what our "status" is in life. They love us, and we love them. That kind love is a special part of being a family. Our Heavenly Father's love for us is incomparably more amazing. Our kids forgive us for our many shortfalls (and we forgive them as well), but our Heavenly Father forgives us all day every day for sinning against Him, both intentionally and unintentionally. Not only that, in spite of our lack of trust in Him, He promises us that "along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light beffore them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." (Isaiah 42:16) Now THAT is unconditional love! We're called to obey Him perfectly, and we so often doubt. We try to take life into our own hands, forgetting that God always perfectly and faithfully keeps His beautiful promises. That offends the God who gave His own Son for our very souls! And yet, when we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful to forgive us. That is amazing given the fact that we are often so faithLESS! Psalm 103 says that "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him." I was only going to quote verse 11, but how could I leave out verses 10 and 12-13?! His promises are so clear and stated so often. I am ashamed at the way I often don't trust as I should. Praise HIM for HIS faithfulness and for HIS goodness to us... we truly have an awesome Father whose love, I pray, I begin to fathom!
