pregnant

Common Sense when Speaking Please

/ Jaimie / 2 Comments

Please indulge while I rant for a moment on basic etiquette and common sense.

As I’ve told you before, I am happily pregnant with my fourth little munchkin. The second trimester is so much easier than the first in many ways, but I’m encountering a new phenomenon that I don’t think I noticed the last three times around. As my baby bump is growing, I am finding that the comments I am receiving from the peanut gallery are growing and some of them are a little baffling.

I am perfectly fine with people commenting on the fact that I am showing or (hopefully) how adorable I look. I can even (in most instances) tolerate the occasional belly rub. Still, I wonder what is going through the minds of those who choose to use words like “huge” and “fatty” in reference to how an expecting mommy looks. I’ve been told, “You’re HOW far along?” while eyes roll and gravitate back and forth between my face and stomach. Or there’s the ever so popular, “Are you sure there’s only ONE in there?”

I was so grateful for the fellow mom that happened to be standing next to me yesterday at church and said “I always showed right away too” in response to the man who was telling me if I’m already this huge I’m certainly going to be REALLY HUGE by the time I deliver. I could tell in his face he was genuinely trying to be nice, but still…not too brilliant.

It seems to me that there is a certain insanity among those who would say insulting things to a woman whose hormones are raging in such a way that you never know how she’ll react. I usually possess enough self-control to push down the impulse to punch them or snap back irrationally, but I can’t promise that my strength will prevail every time. I admit that it is making me cranky! Maybe writing it all out here will alleviate some of the frustration and return me to a state of “normal”…at least that’s what I’m hoping for.

I made a decision at the beginning of this adventure that I would wear my baby belly proudly and I will continue to show off my HUGE-ness with a smile. However, please say a quick prayer that I don’t deck any poor, unsuspecting, well-intentioned but extremely misguided, blabbermouth who happens to call me fatty on the wrong day. 🙂

Memoirs of a Superhero

/ Jaimie / Leave a comment

Image

I’ve been distracted…

I’ll admit that I’ve often been impressed with my supermom ability to be able to juggle multiple tasks at once. You moms will know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s those moments when we’re on the phone, cooking dinner, cleaning up, folding laundry, watching our kid who wants to show us his/her latest amazing trick, refereeing the argument brewing between the older siblings while managing to sneak a kiss or two from our spouse. All the while, it doesn’t even seem to faze us. It’s what we do. We were designed to be perfectly capable of accomplishing multiple things at once before our “going batty” sensor starts to blip. It’s life.

Somehow in the midst of it all, we find time to spend with the Lord. We meditate on his goodness while doing the dishes. We worship in the car. We pray in car-rider line. We read the Bible daily. It’s essential to our survival; so we make sure we keep our life line stable and we’re off and running. Even more surprisingly, we manage to teach our children the value of this.

My pastor’s wife once told me that a mistake many moms innocently make is that the only time they read the Bible is when the kids are asleep. This makes perfect sense because it’s the only time there’s peace and quiet to really focus, but the problem lies in the fact that then, our children never see us reading the Bible. I’d never thought of that until then and I quickly shifted my schedule so that though the majority of my study happens before they are awake, I spend time in the word in front of them as well so they know it’s a priority in my life.

I’m still doing all of these things. My household is running smoothly. I’m grounded in the word. I’m praying. But I’ve been feeling disconnected.

I attribute this distraction to the fact that I found out about a month ago that I’m expecting baby number four. My husband and I and the kids are all excited. We know that a baby is a blessing from the Lord. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” Psalm 127:3-5. I am so thankful. For the record, my husband is amazing! His reaction to the news was a little shock at first and then he pulled me close and prayed a blessing over me and our new baby. It doesn’t get better than that. But I digress.

I feel as though, my brain and body have been abducted by my hormones. I can’t focus. I’m so tired that I accomplish everything five times slower. My once superhuman multi-tasking skills have been reduced to blank stares and “huh?” It’s bizarre. What I fear the most is that I will let go of my life line. I remember when my other kids came along; I had to focus so much on them that I lost some of my focus on the Lord. I don’t want to make that mistake again. I’m trying to be patient with myself and realize that I’m still indeed human and God doesn’t demand that I be supermom or super-Christian or super-worship leader. He just wants my heart. My heart is His.

The scripture that I keep returning to is:

“The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty one, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Then this morning I read this:

“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble. You shall surround me with songs of deliverance” Psalm 32:7

While I am running around down here striving with all my might to keep it all together, God is in my midst delighting in me, rejoicing over me with gladness and trying to quiet me with His love. He doesn’t want me working myself to the point of exhaustion (which isn’t too hard these days) in an effort to keep everything “perfect”. He wants me to chill. He wants me to hide in His presence and find my strength there.

I’m a singer and I’m passionate about it. I long with all my heart to hear the songs the Lord is singing over me! He is singing songs of deliverance and songs of rejoicing over ME! I think instead of striving, I’m going to practice listening. Who knows, maybe someday, I’ll get to hear those songs if I quiet my heart and head enough. Either way, I choose to rest in His love. I choose to enjoy my children, my husband and this new gift growing inside of me. I’ll even rejoice in the morning sickness!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. It’s our job to acknowledge them and rest in His presence.