Sallie mentioned recently that we’ve come to a point in our pregnancy where Little Miss Peanut would have a chance of making it if she was born prematurely. This is a great comfort, but we want her to remain in Mommy for the next 14 weeks and grow to full-term and be healthy. Okay, maybe 12 weeks – we’re really looking forward to meeting her!
I look at Sallie’s baby bump and can see that we’re heading into the home stretch. This is really a wonderful time of anticipation. And Little Miss Peanut is really bumping around in there! Sallie is cherishing this time.
Sallie mentioned in a recent post about our journey through childlessness that our journey is not over yet. We’re not “out of the woods” yet. But when do we really come “out of the woods”? As much as we don’t like to think about it, there is no guarantee that any child will live a full life after she’s born.
When Little Miss Peanut is born, the Lord won’t be telling us, “Here she is. You’ll have a great full life with her and wait ’til you see the grandchildren she’ll give you in 2031.” We don’t get those guarantees. So how are we to face these realities?
When I married Sallie, I was so thankful that the Lord had brought me His best. Then I started to struggle with the fear of losing her. In a sense, I felt in my heart an attitude of “Thank you God for bringing me such a wonderful wife. Now please don’t take her away!” It’s not about gratitude at that moment. It’s more about something that Sallie’s father and I discuss at times: control.
We all want control. Much of life is about trying to be in control. We all want to feel we are in control of our circumstances. Our income will be stable, our children obedient, our home all organized, the government will do the right thing, Al Queda will never attack us again like on 9-11, etc. James 4:14 is very clear when it tells us that we do not know what will happen tomorrow, so we get no assurances or ultimate control over our circumstances. But, we are encouraged to deal with them with the Lord’s help one day at a time. Our lives will contain trouble at times, and Paul tells us how to respond to life in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.” We deal with life as it actually happens, not as it might happen.
That’s why I can rejoice with Kristen and her husband over their long-awaited pregnancy, and their joy over this miracle is so wonderful to read about. After so many years of waiting to find my wife, and then so many years of waiting to have a baby, I finally get to be a Daddy and at the age of 43! This is happy news and it has been a great experience to see others rejoice with me!
So now as we face the last few months of our pregnancy, we could be tempted by the Enemy to worry needlessly and take away our joy and anticipation of meeting Little Miss Peanut. But instead we choose to rejoice at the hope of our soon-to-be-born little girl!
Great post David, and thanks for your supportive comments on my post (I am going to delete it now as it has served it’s purpose).
I love that you call your unborn child Little Miss Peanut. I referred to my children in the womb as peanut, then strawberry, then orange, then grapefruit…as the pregnancy book I had compared the size of the baby to fruit! Lol.
Your comment referring to James is so spot-on!. It of course supports Our Lord’s exhortation not to worry about tomorrow as it has enough trouble of its own and of course we can’t do anything whatsoever about it so why try!
Blessings
*tears* Thank you, David. I am going to share this post with my husband–I am sure we both can be encouraged and edified by what you shared here. Many blessings to you and Sallie.
Mrs. Blythe, thanks for your comments as well. 🙂 I got a kick out of your name changes as your little one became larger. Very funny!
Kristen, your story is one that obviously touches our hearts. We know how you feel, and you know that we know. I’m pleased that this post encouraged you and I know there’s a bit of “oh man, it’s almost too good to be true” in your hearts due to what you’ve been through. Ultrasounds are wonderful tools and a gift of God’s grace that help assure us, aren’t they?
When we went for our six-week ultrasound to verify if Peanut was there, I was on edge. I admit that I was scared (and I probably shouldn’t have been). Scared to possibly find out that it wasn’t true. Even though we had the blood tests with the numbers going up, even though Sallie took a bunch of pregnancy tests, even though she felt horrible, there was still the fear that it might not be true. It happens.
But when the doctor worked around and found the sack, then tried and tried to find the tiny little person, I started to get a little nervous. Then he said, “oh wait, ah here it is”. WHAT A RELIEF to finally “see” that it was true. And there was a little fluctuation of a beating heart. “It’s a green light” said the doctor and then we knew, yes, it was true.
I realise that this comment is almost a month after the original message was posted. However, I felt the need to respond.
My father was 39 years old when he married my mother, a first-time father at 43 and then again at 49 (me! and just 4 months shy of his 50th birthday to boot!). I am so blessed to have him as my Dad and I believe his mature age helped make him the best Dad that he knew how to be. I’m sure you’ll be a great Daddy to your little Peanut when she arrives too 🙂
Congratulations!
Best wishes from Diana (in Australia)