If you have been reading this blog for a little while, you might remember that a few months ago, when I was still pregnant with Jacob, I was put on bed rest due to a threat of preterm labor. My doctor informed me that she fully expected Jacob to arrive early.
So my friends and I moved up the mama blessing we had started planning in lieu of a traditional baby shower, which had originally been scheduled for September 30. If I remember correctly, we celebrated with a hasty mama blessing party just a week and a half after my doctor shared her opinion.
We had a beautiful time. A group of precious women gathered in our home to laugh and eat and pray. They spoke my son's name, and my daughter's. It was absolutely perfect, and just what this crazy, grieving, stressed out pregnant lady needed.
But then I didn't give birth. Days passed, and then weeks, and it seemed clear that my doctor was wrong. I grew frustrated and then irritated. Because we had rescheduled the party at the last minute, some friends I had wanted to celebrate couldn't make the new date, and it seemed that all the rushing around and stressing and rescheduling had been for nothing.
But today I had a different thought about the situation. It struck me that Jacob was born on September 28 -- two days before the original blessing party date. If we hadn't rescheduled, I wouldn't have been able to celebrate this baby with my friends and family before his arrival. And I had desperately -- if nervously -- wanted to.
And then something else occurred to me -- maybe God knew that . . . maybe God knew that I needed to have a pre-baby party, and provided.
It seems impossible. The thought of it certainly brings me to knees, because how could the God who made all of Everything be bothered to care about something as silly as my baby shower?
And yet He does, I think.
Isn't that just like Him? It's so easy to believe that He's only concerned with the big issues, or with that other, "more important" person over there. But really, He's into the small stuff, too, into the smallness of my life (and yours) specifically.
And maybe He's even into the small stuff more. Because that's where real life happens -- in the nitty gritty, the mundane, the unseen. And really, His presence in the small things of my life feel more miraculous because they are small.
I don't know why I keep forgetting.
So my friends and I moved up the mama blessing we had started planning in lieu of a traditional baby shower, which had originally been scheduled for September 30. If I remember correctly, we celebrated with a hasty mama blessing party just a week and a half after my doctor shared her opinion.
We had a beautiful time. A group of precious women gathered in our home to laugh and eat and pray. They spoke my son's name, and my daughter's. It was absolutely perfect, and just what this crazy, grieving, stressed out pregnant lady needed.
But then I didn't give birth. Days passed, and then weeks, and it seemed clear that my doctor was wrong. I grew frustrated and then irritated. Because we had rescheduled the party at the last minute, some friends I had wanted to celebrate couldn't make the new date, and it seemed that all the rushing around and stressing and rescheduling had been for nothing.
But today I had a different thought about the situation. It struck me that Jacob was born on September 28 -- two days before the original blessing party date. If we hadn't rescheduled, I wouldn't have been able to celebrate this baby with my friends and family before his arrival. And I had desperately -- if nervously -- wanted to.
And then something else occurred to me -- maybe God knew that . . . maybe God knew that I needed to have a pre-baby party, and provided.
It seems impossible. The thought of it certainly brings me to knees, because how could the God who made all of Everything be bothered to care about something as silly as my baby shower?
And yet He does, I think.
Isn't that just like Him? It's so easy to believe that He's only concerned with the big issues, or with that other, "more important" person over there. But really, He's into the small stuff, too, into the smallness of my life (and yours) specifically.
And maybe He's even into the small stuff more. Because that's where real life happens -- in the nitty gritty, the mundane, the unseen. And really, His presence in the small things of my life feel more miraculous because they are small.
I don't know why I keep forgetting.
"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.'
"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave."
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
I love your faith. I know that seems silly because I have none of my own, but I absolutely adore your faith.
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