Now.

She is 7 months old now.

She's giving me kisses now. 
First thing in the morning, especially.  Big, open-mouthed, sloppy wet kisses.  But they are the sweetest things, and make me laugh.  It is hard to believe she is old enough to be kissing.  And she's also old enough to coyly withhold them from daddy.

She's crawling everywhere now. 
And her favorite place to go?  Into the bathroom where she knows I've tucked away the dog food.  If she gets too quiet, I can be sure she's making a beeline for the open bathroom door, and more than once I've dug crunchy bits of food out of her clenched-down jaw.  Honestly I wouldn't care so much, except right now it could make her choke. 

She's full of curiousity now. 
She loves playing peek-a-boo and going outside.  She adores the water.  She watches everything so intently... you can just see her little wheels turning.  When we walk up the stairs, she giggles and giggles if she's in her daddy's arms and she can lean over and see me on the landing below.  That bird's eye perspective provides endless amusement right now.

The other day Jacob walked in the front door of our apartment after a long day at work.  Cora and I were sitting on the couch; I was doing something on the computer.  I looked over my shoulder and said, "Oh, hey there," and turned back to what I was doing.  But I caught a glimpse of Cora as I turned away from him.  She was still looking right at him, and her eyes lit up and a wide smile spread across her face.  She started squealing and giggling. 

I was distracted and busy - dealing with something that seemed so pressing at the moment. I offered a casual hello and went back to my own concerns... my own self-absorption.  But not Cora.  She had no concerns beyond the present moment.  And at that moment, Daddy was home.  She had nothing but pure joy for the gift of now.  At that exact moment, getting scooped up in Daddy's arms was the only thing that mattered in her universe.  She was fully present, fully alive, fully soaking in the joy of right now.

And I thought, "Have faith like a child."

Isn't that just what it is?  Faith?  Trusting that right now is all we really need?  Faith that God has given us good gifts for this moment to be enjoyed, savored, and loved and from that a trust that whatever comes next will also be held in His palm?  I want to learn this from my baby girl... how to stake down my tent in the land of right now.  How to soak up every beautiful moment for all that it is; for just like the last 7 months, it will pass far too quickly.