This past weekend I got to witness something very special, even if it is pretty ordinary and happens all the time - I saw my mother-in-law meet her newest great-grandson for the first time, and watched her carefully cradle him in her fragile arms. I saw the glow on her face as she looked down upon the countenance of the sleeping child, and am reminded in a weird sort of way of all the Madonna and child paintings created by the masters. There is something about holding a new baby in your arms, cradling this innocent and completely helpless human being, that brings out the maternal instinct in every mother, no matter how old. And it is always beautiful to see.
Despite her confusion about the day, there was no mistaking the smile and the joy as my MIL held this newly born child for the first time. She smiled and gently touched the baby, tenderly cradling his body in the crook of her arm, just as she did so long ago with my husband and each of his siblings in their turn. It is something you don't forget, that instinct to protect and nurture, and it came to her as soon as he was laid in her arms.
It is always interesting to see the oldest and youngest together, side by side, so similar and so connected in so many ways. They both need care and nurture, and they are both dependent on the loving assistance of others to survive. It is truly part of that circle we talk about in marriage, the unbroken path of love that leads us from birth to death, and all the points in between. We are not islands, surviving in the fast running water alone. We are connected to each other, as family, and as people, and we need those connections to sustain life, no matter what our ages or our physical condition.
Death is a taboo topic in this country most of the time. We try not to talk about it, we work hard to cover it up or keep it confined to its assigned place in the world - the morgue, the mortuary, the cemetery, and if hard pressed, perhaps in the nursing home. We put off end of life decisions, we put off making a will or a medical directive, because to do those things requires acknowledgement of the truth that we cannot cheat death forever.
But when I see the oldest and youngest members of the family together, I recognize the value in this circle of life being played out in front of me, the harsh reality staring me in the face in such direct contrast with the promise of what is to come. This elderly woman carefully cradling this infant are both part of the unbroken cord we refer to in the same time honored wedding vows which led to his very presence on this earth.
We know that my MIL's life is coming to a close. Her health is fragile, and she has reached that age where time is rapidly moving her closer to the finish line. The baby she held so carefully is just beginning his life journey, and he has so much to learn before he, too, will be ready to let go of the earthly life and continue the spiritual life on the sacred plane. But as I watched them together, the beginning and the end, I was reminded that God is our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end, and with him, eternity is guaranteed.
I love a wedding where you have people of all ages coming together to celebrate the new family and new life which the newly wedded couple are beginning together. This cloud of witnesses of all ages is the promise of God's eternity brought to flesh. There is no greater joy than the beginning of new life, unless it seeing that beginning reflected in the eyes of their elders.
That is the circle unbroken.
