After weeks of waking up 4, 5, 6 times a night (one of the less glamorous sides to being nine months pregnant and having a very small bladder), the last thing I remember thinking before going to bed last night was "Dear God, please let me sleep through the night"...
What felt like 10 minutes later, I heard Mike getting ready for work, which meant my prayers were answered. I did not wake up a single time since my head hit the pillow. I gave him a kiss goodbye and pushed the illumination button on my phone as the rumble of his truck faded from earshot.
5:10 am
"Great", I thought, "at least another hour or two to sleep"...
ha.
With two hours to go until daylight, my night was over and my day had just begun.
After spending the next 30 minutes or so trying to fall back asleep...I grabbed my computer and and went to read the latest post on this blog here...written by Shannan, a sweet wife and mom of three who writes beautifully and has the keen ability to make you look at life in new ways...
today was no different...she was sharing about this book:
Written by a young woman, Katie Davis, who has dedicated her life to God and to the people of Uganda, Africa.
After spending the next 45 minutes reading Katie's blog, my eyes we wet and weepy. This young woman is the real deal. She does what many of us only talk about. think about. read about.
She adopts children and raises them as her own.
She tends to the wounds of her impoverished neighbors.
She invites men, women, and children into her home to be fed and find rest.
She puts many of our best efforts to shame.
and quite honestly... it was all just a little too heavy for me at 6:13 in the morning...
so I scrolled down the sidebar of Shannan's blog, and picked out another blog to peruse...a seemingly lighthearted one, based on its name, "Enjoying the small things".
ha. once again I could hear the faint sounds of laughter coming from the lips of my Maker.
What I was hoping would be a light, frivolous homemaking/crafting blog, was actually the home to a story which, after my experience last week (found here) , hit me like a ton of bricks.
This young mom recounts in detail the birth of their second daughter, born unexpectedly with down syndrome.
She writes so candidly about the fear, anger, excitement, and hope that was triggered by her daughter's birth...
Her blog is a collection of photos, memories, and musings about their lives and the blessing that their little girls are to them.
Another tear-jerker, heart-breaker, soul-searcher... and it was only 6:45 am.
and so it is official...I'm going to shut my computer for the day, and minimize the risk of God nudging my heart with yet another story of His children, living out their lives with more love and faith than I can imagine.
somehow I have the sneaking suspicion that He will find more ways to capture my attention and call my heart to action, even with my laptop closed...He's good at that.
So here's to another day of excited anticipation for the arrival of our baby, and saying another hundred prayers for whatever the future holds for our little family...I can't wait to see what He's got in mind.
=)
