When a baby is born, a mother’s first instinct is to hold and care. She held the baby in her tummy nine months, now she wants to hold the baby in her arms.
A father’s instinct is practical. Happy babies need fingers and toes, arms and legs. So, he counts them.
A mother knows the need for love and contact. She can have confidence that the practical needs are met because a human father’s attention to toes reflects our Creator’s care through nine months of detailed labor. While the mother holds, the father counts. Are the two opposed or complementary?