I’m sitting on my couch, watching my baby daughter play with her toys. She is voraciously chewing on toy after toy, all of six months old. She notices my glance and flashes me a huge grin before grabbing a toy baby doll and staring at its face with delight.

As I listen to her squeals, I am sometimes overcome by what she means, what her presence tells me about God. She is here by His design. She is a tiny yet intensely moving message from Him. My husband and I have watched her transformation from a very tiny and very helpless newborn to a wiggly, squealing, giggle ball. She is just so much fun, and we are constantly overcome by her beauty.

What does she tell me about God? God loves to create beauty. He loves to give us good gifts. She is a gift from Him, practically wrapped up in a big bow, just waiting for us! When God gave her to us, He was saying, “I love you so much I want to give you something beautiful to care for and love.”

And isn’t that what God is trying to show us in everything that He has made? The world in its expansive beauty. The warmth and life we can receive from healthy and pure relationships with our families and God’s people. Mountains, trees, oceans and backyard gardens.

God is writing His love letters to us with everything that grows and everything that flows, astounds and towers over us in nature. He is, in essence, sending us flowers, chocolates and poetry in the everyday pleasures of healthy family life: hugs, kisses and family devotion.

It seems to me that God is a romantic. What beautiful gifts He showers us with! Christ is to be our bridegroom, after all. It is only fitting that He should love us so and create a world of beauty for us to enjoy.

When God gave her to us, He was saying, “I love you so much I want to give you something beautiful to care for and love.”

Our new baby is a pinnacle of the beauty I have been blessed to behold in my life. She has opened my heart to a new level of worship for our great beauty-bestowing God. God’s message to us in the world He has made is so clear when we choose to listen: “I love you, I love you, I love you!”