Babies are born with many instincts that aid their survival. One of the most remarkable abilities is their instinctive movement toward their mother’s breast immediately after birth. When placed on their mother’s chest, newborn babies will use their sense of smell, sight, taste, hearing, and touch to find nourishment. Stronger than a baby’s own instinct toward food, however, is a loving mother’s own deep need and desire to protect and nourish her child. There is nothing more disconcerting to a parent than the cry of a hungry baby. This too is a deep instinct. Loving parents will do everything in their power to make sure that their babies receive what they need. How much more is our loving Creator eager and desperate to feed us in our hour of need?

What a beautiful image! We are created with an instinct and orientation to crave, need, and move toward our source of sustenance. More importantly, our Creator and Sustainer aches to nurture and feed us.

To be like newborn babies is to acknowledge our radical dependence on the Source of our very life and to open our hearts in trusting surrender so that we will receive what we need to grow and thrive. We are invited to come to know for ourselves that there is a loving Mother awaiting us, longingly aching to feed and care for us.

This is not always easy to do. Newborn babies can get so hungry and desperate for food that they cannot settle down enough to receive the nourishment right before them. As babies learn to settle into their mother’s embrace, they relax. A beautiful rhythm is established between mother and child.

These verses invite us to honestly and trustingly ask for the food we need and to allow our loving Mother to care for us.