This column caught me by surprise, much the way, well, much the way a baby catches you by surprise. I was driving home one day last month when my phone rang. It was my brother-in-law.

“We’re going to have the baby today,” he said.

“No. What?”

“She’s in labor.”

Well, fantastic, I figured. That’s the best news. I hung up, went home, and then headed to the hospital. But that sentence has stayed in my mind ever since my sister and her husband delivered a tiny baby girl. And two weeks later, I find myself sitting at my desk about to throw out the column I already wrote for this edition and write this – because, well, because lately I’ve been feeling sorry for myself. I’ve had some tough times, and all I could see were my problems. All I could hear was that voice that says, “Why is this happening to me?”

But when little Surene (pronounced Serene) Alawan-Mahfouz made her grand entrance with beautiful black hair, a tiny head, full lips and a tiny nose, well, all of a sudden she diverted my attention and captured my heart. My world now seems to swirl around this precious baby. I visit her, mom and dad almost daily.

Here’s the strange thing: Before Surene was born, I saw my sister and brother-in-law maybe once every two weeks. And yet that baby has pulled me in. I look forward to seeing her every day. And I found out that each new day this precious baby woke made my problems seem pathetic.

I can’t really explain why. Maybe it’s because it’s my first niece. Maybe it’s her first weeks of life. Maybe it’s her tiny hands and feet. Maybe it’s her natural expressions, or unexpected moments or sounds (wink, wink). Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the need to sit down with her when she’s old enough and teach her the most important lesson in life: Never believe anything you see on television.

I don’t know for sure.

But this much is certain: In her first 20 days on Earth, this wordless child has put more sentences in my head than all those indulgent, self-pitying voices. She has made me think and cry and put the ridiculous problems I must deal with in perspective.

Even in these difficult times, there is still laughter, joy, peace, and … Surene.

What a miracle life is.*