Grow Grit & Virtue (In Pursuit of God)

Grow Grit & Virtue (In Pursuit of God)

Loved Before You Lift a Finger

You can't earn what you've already been given

Thad Cardine's avatar
Thad Cardine
Oct 14, 2026
∙ Paid

Our first child was born in Savannah, where we had no family. It was just Jamie and me. The birth was difficult, and afterward Jamie was diagnosed with preeclampsia. The hospital kept her, and I went home with our newborn daughter by myself.

I remember buckling her into her car seat by myself, stunned that there was a tiny person in the back of my car and that I was the one taking her home. I had no idea what to do with her. I was terrified.

And out of the blue, I loved her. I would have given up anything and everything for that little girl, and she hadn’t lifted a finger to earn it. She couldn’t do anything but eat, sleep, cry, and need me.

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