Galations 6:9

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galations 6:9

     Saturday was one of those days where I felt His presence so, soo strongly. Did I say strongly? It was a day that started with early morning waffles and two sweethearts. Sticky syrup, sentimental prayers, and lots of little giggles. It was a day that started off well. It also became a day where I had the chance to sneak away to the store for some alone time. (Cue the Hallelujah chorus!) Groceries are a necessity every now and then, ya know? And sometimes, store trips are easier without little paws grabbing items off the shelf.

     While at the store, I received some news that was beyond exciting. At the same time, this news hardly kept discouragement at bay. Someone near and dear to my heart was expecting again. This is the second person that I know who is expecting. And I assure you...there is excitement. These are some of my closest friends. And children?! They are an absolute blessing! After all, they are the whole reason I started this blog. But exciting news for other people is still hard to take sometimes. It tends to stir up emotions I'm not proud of...so I pray. I pray for joy instead of bitterness. I pray for blessings upon blessings upon blessings. "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

    I pulled into the driveway, quite mopey and holding back tears. I made myself feel like an adult and got the mail. I noticed some "good" mail...you know, the no-bill kind of mail. I quickly flipped through the stack to find a pink package and two cards.

     The pink package...hmmm what did I order?! Eric is going to kill me. Oh wait. This was a pre-ordered item from late summer. Phew. It was a t-shirt I had ordered to help with an adoption fundraiser.

     First card...hmmm I looked at the return address. Yep. From Eric's sister. Birthday invites for our niece and nephew. They have birthdays just after our Sydney. Yikes...I don't have Sydney's invites out yet.

    Next card...hmmm I look at the return address. Dear friends of ours...no birthday parties...maybe a note of encouragement. We are blessed with an amazing support group at our church. It is not unlike our group to send out little "Hey, thinking about you!" notes from time to time.

     I stuck the mail underneath my arm and began to load up the mule my arms with grocery bags. I proceeded to stumble into the house, carefully lifted up my arm at such an angle so as to only drop the mail on the couch and not disrupt the weight and balance game I had going with my grocery bags. I unloaded about 300 bags into the house. I finally plopped down onto the couch for the "good" mail.

     Pink package...my Refuse Small Love t-shirt. So excited to be a billboard for someone's heart and wear the reminder for myself. Do big. Love big. (Love that song by Jamie Grace)

     First card...birthday invites indeed...bowling and Build-a-bear...we can't wait! Our kids will have a blast...who am I kidding? So will their parents!

     Next card...I open the envelope and take out the card. Flowers on the front, but no words. I open the card thinking the words of encouragement will soothe my aching soul. But before I can read words, I see something else. I can only respond with tears. Niagara Falls tears. The kind of tears that make my husband drop what he is doing and come rushing over to see if I'm in pain. The kind of tears where my kiddos are brought to silence (rare) wondering if their mom is going to be OK. Three sets of arms put themselves around me...as I cup my face, gasping for air. They wait...and wait...and wait. I fumble with the card and set it on Eric's lap. He opens it up and puts his head down...completely speechless.

    God had completely overwhelmed us with the contents of this card. With this card, the Lord held us tightly and let us know that there can be children in our future. He reminded us that in HIS time, He will bless us and reward our family. He showed us through the generosity of some of our dearest friends that where there are two or more gathered in His name, He is there also. He has not forgotten about us. The contents of this card were so unfathomable that honestly, there will not be a SINGLE day that goes by where I am not brought to tears by the generosity of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This card was the exact embrace that I (WE) needed on a hard day. The contents within this card have allowed us to jump in, friends. Right now! We are ready to JUMP and I've got quite the cannonball planned. EEK!