Actor and director, Justin Baldoni, recently became a dad when he welcomed his first daughter with his wife, Emily.
As many new parents will attest to, the birth of your first child leaves you feeling overwhelmed, emotional and full of love. This was obviously the case for Justin who decided to pen a love letter to his wife, new daughter and mothers everywhere.
The letter, which went viral, has had almost 10,000 likes on Facebook (at the time of writing). Countless people have commented to commend Justin for his words, and for the love he obviously has for his wife and daughter. The couple, welcomed their first daughter, Maiya, at their home on 27 June 2015, are obviously settling in well to their roles as new parents.
Justin’s page is filled with adorable snaps of the happy family sharing those precious newborn moments. From bags of poop-filled nappies, to adorable shots of the family sharing a kiss, Justin has been sharing some of his favourite moments with his thousands of Facebook followers.
Justin decided to take a moment to honour his wife and tell the internet just how amazed he was with her strength during childbirth. The letters serves as a reminder of just how life-changing pregnancy, birth and motherhood can be.
In the letter, Justin says, “I may have thought I loved my wife before… but I’m not exaggerating when I say I absolutely worship her now.”
The experience of childbirth leaves many women feeling strong, empowered and invincible. And many new fathers find themselves in awe of their partner’s strength, determination and power. Becoming parents changes a relationship, it often adds a whole new level of respect and love for one another.
Justin’s letter, which starts out as a note of appreciation to his wife, soon transforms into a note of advice for his new daughter. Justin waxes lyrical about the strength and wonder of women, before adding, “So if you see a glass ceiling, know that it’s only there so you can shatter it.”
To women everywhere, Justin writes, “Know that you are beautiful just as you are…and you my dear, are more than enough. You are perfection. These are the words I pray my little Maiya will hear throughout her life from not just me, but from all the men in her world.”
The beautiful letter perfectly captures those raw emotions and that swell of love that parents experience after the birth of a child. Maiya is a very lucky little girl to have such a doting father and a mother that inspires such strong feelings of pride and love.
Here is the letter from Justin’s page:
Dear Women, (and any man willing to read this)
Please forgive me as I gently offer up this prayerful reflection about my experience as a man during the pregnancy, and birth of my daughter.
This is a love letter… A love letter to my wife, to my newborn daughter… and to you.
I have never in my life witnessed such grace, such beauty, such intuition and instinct, such heroism and power, such prayerfulness and steadfastness, and such joy and happiness as I did these past 9 months. I may have thought I loved my wife before… but I’m not exaggerating when I say I absolutely worship her now.
Emily chose to make our little Maiya’s birth a ceremony of love, and all I could do was say thank you, thank you, thank you.. through tears and tears of gratitude.
If you’re a man reading this and you have a wife…take a second, stop and simply embrace her, tell her how grateful you are she exists, and let her know how honored you are to be able to experience life with her. Let her know you trust her intuition and that she is perfect.
If your a woman reading this… look in the mirror, stare into your own eyes and know that you have EVERYTHING you will ever need right in front of you… it’s already inside you, and you are amazing and capable of literally anything. Know that anything a man can do you can do (and probably better) and there are things that you can accomplish in this life that a man could never even dream of… because they were destined to be accomplished by you.
So if you see a glass ceiling, know that it’s only there so you can shatter it.
Know that you are beautiful just as you are… and you my dear, are more than enough. You are perfection.
These are the words I pray my little Maiya will hear throughout her life from not just me, but from all the men in her world. This is my prayer of gratitude and hope for all women. This is a reflection of a humbled and awe struck man who had the bounty of witnessing the power, the supremacy, and the radiance of the feminine. This is simply a love letter, a letter of love, and a letter filled with love from a new father to anyone who needs to hear or read this.
If that’s you, just know…
I love you.
Justin
Image source: Facebook
Recommended Reading:
If Justin’s heartfelt letter has made you feel all tingly, you might like BellyBelly’s article on the Best Things About Newborns – 10 Things We Love.
