So now I was okay internally, with a new baby. Externally, however, I was still scared…
Scared because while I had peace about this pregnancy, I knew that not everyone else would understand my peace and what God was doing in my life. I don’t even understand all that God is doing in my life–Ha! There is no simple explanation; no clear cut answer to the flood of comments and invasive questions I was about to receive. People talk—all the time and often too freely. My biggest concern was my response to the questions and comments. Even though I did not ask for them, preparation was required. As one who claims to be reppin’ Jesus, I needed to be appropriate regardless of their impropriety.
Well, when I was pregnant with baby #3, the comments were a steady flow. Everything from “going for the boy now?” to “are you stopping after this?” and then some. You know—things that are not their business. While I tried to shrug it off, I did find that most of these questions were tiptoeing heavily on the line of rude. And if that’s how they felt about three, I knew not much would change with #4.
This fear held me back for the longest time. I avoided announcing this pregnancy publicly, choosing to let the *bump* speak for itself. And while the questions did come, I did the ‘smile-and-nod’ bit for the most part. Because I was filled with God’s peace, I was okay with not having a response to the pointed questions. It took me weeks to get to this point, mind you. So, while my outer reaction is to be kind, my inner reaction is to pray that these people would experience God in a different way too.
Now for the fun stuff:
Baby is due in early January 2014. (I have like 14.5 weeks left—squeeeee!) I’ll need a new car seat and diaper bag for sure.
Yes, we need a van!!! Our faithful, God-piloted 5-seater car cannot nor will not hold an extra person. Since my promise-keeping God has promised to provide, I know that the van is coming. It won’t hurt to be specific and ask you all to pray for us. We have our eye on a Honda Odyssey. (We will take whatever vehicle works, but it doesn’t hurt to dream, right?) The only reason we’ve gone this long without is because we don’t have room for a car payment. However, the imminent need of a van has skyrocketed exponentially. And we’re on a deadline now.
My girls are all excited to be big sisters. They come to appointments with me and *help* the doctor listen to the heartbeat. They can’t wait until January and are looking forward to holding their new sibling.
Gender? We know it. And you’ll find out in January. **big cheesy grin** Yes, watching you all in suspense has been great fun for us. Lots of friendly wagers are happening around me as my friends and extended family try to break me or guess what the baby is. Our lips are sealed….
This experience is another faith-builder in my life. God’s up to something huge, y’all!