Looking Up

As it turns out, my Baby L doesn't like hats... But I digress.

Looking back on 2012, I am so thankful to have been blessed and covered by God's grace. Especially as it pertains to Baby L, whose health I dare not take for granted. I mean, I know of several babies born this year to people I know, who have been diagnosed with genetic or physical challenges that range from slightly inconvenient to severe and life-threatening.

As I mentioned previously, we all came down with the stomach flu at the same time this past week.  We've never been sick simultaneously, so this was a new thing for us, and not great.  Usually, when one parent is down, the other one sort of picks up the slack.  How does that work when both are down, and baby is unusually fussy?

Plus, with this particular bout, Baby L was vomiting every 15 minutes for several hours.  Her adorable little face would turn beet red, contort into this tense grimace, and then as her stomach seized up and released its contents, she would look up at Hubbs and I with her big beautiful brown eyes pleading for us to help her make it stop.  Our hearts broke whenever this happened, and all we could do was hold her as she cried and whimpered and tried to rest between pukes.

This was probably the worst case of tummy bug that Baby L has ever had, and she has had it a couple of times before.  And yet, heart-breaking and brutal as it was, it had a finite end, and now she is (and we all are) on the road to recovery.  She is, for the most part, healthy and thriving.  She does not have anything that is potentially life-long.  This is entirely God's grace poured out on us, undeserving though we are.

God's goodness has also been evident in the way that He is blessing us in the midst of my dad's cancer battle.  He has surrounded my parents with a community of people who love and encourage them, and are tending to their material needs as well as connecting them with other cancer survivors who are giving them hope and inspiration.  The Father has also been looking after my father, slowly helping him regain some of his energy and strength after his radiation treatments.  And by His Spirit, I am continually being reminded of the hope we have in Jesus Christ, which assures me that a place is being prepared for my dad in Paradise; this Truth sustains me in those dark moments when I allow my mind to dwell on my dad's diagnosis and future.

The Lord has also been protecting my marriage, covering it with His hand and binding Hubbs and I together during those hard moments, or unexpected moments, when difficulties with parenthood threatened to divide us.  If I was honest, I'd have to say that this year was the hardest year of marriage in the 7 that we've been Hubbs and wife; having a baby has a way of revealing some of the selfishness and mislaid priorities and nasty habits that we hadn't previously dealt with.  And yet, He continues to work in and through both of us to refine us and strengthen our covenant in spite of ourselves.  What a good and loving God we serve!

God has also been perfect in His provision, giving us exactly what we need, like a new home when space became scarce in our old place, and funds that would allow us to help bless others who need it.  Baby L doesn't lack for toys or books or clothes or food, nor do we.  And it is entirely a gift from a gracious Father who knows how to give good gifts to His children.

Finally, I can say unequivocally that God has been growing and raising Baby L, and letting us "help" rather than the other way around! She astounds us every day with milestones that she is hitting, new discoveries, and an emerging personality that is equal parts Type-A-determined and fun-spirited.  How all of these things are happening is beyond me, because I don't think I am doing anything beyond what any other mom would do for their kid, and yet I see learning and conceptual connections being made that I couldn't possibly have taught.  When I prayed for Baby L way before she was given to us, I had asked the Lord to set her apart to glorify Him with her life.  It seems that He is answering my prayer because so often when I watch her play, my heart turns to praise Him!

Anyway, 2012 was a good year, and my prayer is that 2013 will continue to be one filled with His hand in all things, provided that He allows me to keep looking up at Him throughout my days.  So far, 2013, so good!