What Brie Will Be

     My granddaughter is now five months old and each day she becomes more engaged with the world around her. When a baby is born one of the first questions everyone asks is, "Who does he/she look like?" Meaning, which parent? Although in the current craziness of casual sex, it could mean which of many partners, and there is a huge difference between a parent and a partner. I could not guess who Brie looked like at first. I usually think babies look like the parent I know best, but I know both Brie's parents pretty well. Her thick black hair and round face looked more like my daughter-in-law, Emily, rather than my daughter. Sounds like an episode of Dr. Phil. Later Britten sent me a picture in which Brie's expression, more than her looks, reminded me of Luke. Britten told me that is how Brie looks when she is constipated, thus confirming my stereotype about engineers in general.
     Since Brie is in the 98th percentile for height, she obviously takes after her 6' 7" father in that. Although I would be thrilled to be 5'7" like my daughter. She is also talkative; definitely did not get that from her mother. Brie has been trying to teethe early, whereas all my babies teethed late. And teeth will come in handy because she has a big appetite and needs something more like meat than milk if she and her mother are ever going to sleep through the night.
    Brie already sings, but will she play instruments like her mother? Will she come to love the books her parents are already reading her? Will she enjoy learning and school? Those are not necessarily the same things. Will she, by some genetic fluke, have artistic talent? Our family has been waiting for an artist for a long time. Will she display her parents' gift for remodeling when she is old enough to redo a Barbie playhouse? Will she be a natural mechanic like her Grandpa and uncle? A pessimist or an optimist? How old will she be when she trusts Christ as her Savior?
     These are things I must wait to find out:  What she is by nature, what she may become by nurture, what she chooses for herself when she is old enough. Her talents, her tastes, sense of humor. All those unknowns are what I am waiting to discover as Brie's personality unfolds, like a flower opening in the sun, like her namesake angel unfurling his wings. And, if God allows, I will be here to see what Brie will be.