God Counsels

I call on You, O God, for You will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of Your great love, You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings. Psalm 17:6-8

Though I don't believe labor is imminent for me, there are clearly changes afoot - you know, those crazy hormones. I'm suddenly moody, emotional, not sleeping well, and so on. Honestly, this has highlighted for me how even-keeled I've really been for most of the pregnancy and that's a praise, something to be very thankful for!

As I thought and prayed over this....new me today, I had to admit to God (and myself) that I'm really bothered by these changes. I realized that hitting this more emotional, scatterbrained place makes me feel out of control, which makes me feel I need to fight for control, which doesn't help matters. Vicious cycle, you see.

I asked God to counsel me through all these thoughts, show me how to see things rightly. He reminded me of several things. One thing was that it is NORMAL to experience shifts like this during pregnancy. The next reminder: It is normal for ME to feel this way in late pregnancy, as hormones rage and change and as I begin to truly plan out the last little necessary things to be done before Baby's arrival.

Probably the most comforting realization He gave me was this: He is preparing me for The New Normal. I (like most people?) tend to fight such changes, reaching back constantly for the old normal, wanting to make that work, because, well, I know how to do that. However, I since the New Normal is foreign to me, I glance at it and try to run the other way.

The best thing is always that place when I accept God's grace - the grace to receive the New. And I'd be really naive to think that my upcoming Normal isn't going to include feeling scatterbrained, emotional, and tired.

Part of this prayer and thinking time included reading Psalms 17 and 18, with the verses above really catching my heart's attention, reminding me to keep pleading for (and expecting to receive) His help, protection, and mercies. I love the tender images of the pupil of the eye, and the safety under wings and it's encouraging to read the Psalmist's confidence: I call on You, O God, for you will answer me.

Thank You, Wonderful Counselor, for helping me to understand myself better, to see things more clearly. I need Your heavy grace to look the Blessed New Normal head on, embrace it, and enjoy it. Thank you for the preview, the practice, that You are giving me now...
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EG's clay figures. The girls started sculpting the other day. There really wasn't that much clay - maybe that's why they made them so tiny? At some point along the way, the girls decided to price and sell their figures (to each other, mostly, though I moseyed by with a few quarters in hand).The one on the lower right is supposed to be Dora the Explorer. Oh, and I guess I need to work with EG on her spelling a little...

Here are some of MK's animals. I love the attention to detail - the carrot, the tiny piece of cheese, the curly tail on the mouse. And I thought the monkey just had a lot of personality. The animals have since met their trash-can grave, but we got some good photographic evidence of their short-but-adorable existence.