Spreading Kindness

    Last night was a little stressful. I saw a mouse in our kitchen. (Eek!!) For me, that meant in a trembling, full body sweat, I grabbed the toddler and my giant 39+ week pregnant self. We vacated the house until Kyle came home to rescue us and take care of the situation. So we went out for supper and went late night shopping. I thought about calling the hospital to see if I could just check in a few days early!

But, this isn't a mouse story. This is a post of kindness.

We decided to kill some time at a department store. This particular store only has a few carts where toddlers can ride in the carts. The rest are only small mesh carts. I am waddling in, carrying a tired toddler and my giant purse (why do I carry such a thing?).  I scour the area and see only one cart in the corner blocked in by 2 wheelchairs. So I start wheeling the chairs out of the way and find out the cart is stuck to another cart somehow and the wheels are not coming undone. I'm struggling and shaking the carts, trying to keep my purse and toddler in check and hoping my water doesn't break in front of everyone. A man comes over and says his wife is almost finished with their cart and he'll bring it right over to me.
Bean sees him coming with the cart and yells "Alright, go ride!"  I thank the man profusely as his family is walking out the door.   I just couldn't get this gesture out of my mind. To him, it was probably nothing, but to me-it made my night. We get all settled in and had the best time browsing the store for Christmas ideas.
This time of the year the crowds and traffic increase to the point of frustration. It's so easy to get caught up in my own lists and rushing around. I took this night as a reminder to be aware of my surroundings and look for ways to show God's kindness to others. Even if it's just letting an elderly woman take the closer parking spot or giving my cart to another struggling momma. You never know what kind of blessing that will spread. I challenge you to make a point to look around this season and do the same.


2 Timothy 1:3-11 (The Message) 

3-4 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

10-11 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

   

A Vision in Waiting

A few years ago before we had Bean, I had a vision during church one Sunday. I saw very clearly a teenage girl, who was our daughter. She was standing in the row in front of me singing with arms raised in a worship service. Kyle was by my side and it was an amazing glimpse of what I believe in some way could be God's design for our family. 

The last two weeks of my pregnancy have been a little rough for me. I have had steady, daily contractions anywhere from 5 minutes-15 minutes apart. They start in the morning and last into the evening. There were two days I made it through the day with few contractions and those nights I was up the entire night with them. The contractions themselves range from annoying to painful, but it's draining me emotionally. I'm having to count and constantly wonder if this is the real thing or just more false labor. It feels like the longest wait ever. 

Last Sunday I went to church.  I was tired, having contractions, and just trying to get through another day. During worship we sang a song by Plumb called "Need You Now (How Many Times)"

If you haven't heard it, you should definitely look it up. 

As we were singing the song and I was pouring out to God my exhaustion and the anxieties of waiting. I saw the same vision that I had completely forgotten about from a few years ago. There was our teenage daughter, hands raised and Kyle and I standing together right behind her. It was like God just sent me a reminder that this time, these pains, these worries are only temporary. He has so much more in store for our family. 

I do not know if this baby is that daughter. I do not know if we will even have a daughter, or if maybe the vision will come true in a different manner. But I do know that God has a plan in store for each of us. Sometimes I forget and can only see and feel my big struggle in front of me. God knows that, and when I finally just give in and grab for Him, He is right there beside me to drag me through and see past my right now.  

I asked for prayers on Facebook on Thursday after a really horrible night of painful contractions. Thank you all for prayers and thoughts!  This weekend has been much, much better. I even made it through one night without even one contraction. I'm hoping that the rest of the time up until arrival continues the same. 

Here we are! 38 weeks and counting. Can't wait to meet our little boy or girl! Bean is super excited. He is constantly hugging my belly and talking about the baby. He's going to be a really great big brother.