showered again!

My mom and paula threw me a "these are the women i come from" shower yesterday. It was so special-- seeing as many of the women who have known me practically my whole life were there. It was an overwhelming display of love -- i felt truly showered! Everyone went around and shared one or two pieces of motherly advice-- which i got (all 23 minutes of!) on film! I'm so glad, because not only was it great advice, it is something I will be able to watch years from now and realize the wisdom of the women God has blessed my life with! Many of them are grandmothers now and it was beautiful to hear their hearts about what they've learned, as they look back on their own experiences, as well as sharing their current ones. The food was incredible, and they definitely outdid themselves from paper products to decorations, to favors, and little baby feet shaped brownies! There was even a little "letters to baby boy brown" scrapbook that everyone contributed to! Our livingroom is now covered from floor to ceiling with baby stuff... and it all feels suddenly REAL! As I enter my 37th week, and Bruno enters "full term" status, it is hitting me a little more each day, and unwrapping each new gift for him, that he is coming into our lives... soon and forever! Wow.

This morning our sermon was on thankfulness, and just how there is ALWAYS something in EVERY circumstance, for which to be grateful. It was delivered by a guest pastor from Germany, named Wolfgang Wengert. It was the first sermon he's ever preached in English, and he was simply precious! He told a story of a little girl who approached him after he preached on this topic in Germany. She said, "Pastor,you forgot about one situation where we should be thankful!" Very curious, he listened intently as she told the story of 2 brothers who were walking together down the street, and one of them was carrying on about how we should be thankful in every situation, never stop giving thanks to God in all things, at all times, etc...

Suddenly a bird flew over and dropped a little something on the thankful brother's head. His brother turned to him and said, "Ha-- now, what is there to be thankful for in THIS situation, brother?" The thankful brother thought about it and replied, "Well... Right now, in this situation.... I am thankful that cows do not have wings to fly!"

That certainly puts things in perspective :)

It gave me something to think about as I face the pain that lies iminently before me-- from the first contraction to the likely tearing of my own flesh... from sleepless nights, to the struggles of nursing and recovering while trying to learn what each cry means... What wonderful things I have in each of those moments to be thankful for! All in all, I want to grow in thankfulness during this season-- despite the ups and downs that are surely on their way!