Things have been happy. Things have been sobering. Things have been difficult. And things have been hopeful.
The happy:
We are slowly acquiring things we need for baby. The best part? We're getting really good deals in the process! So far, we've gotten a free change table, a baby bath tub for $3.50 and a super-nice rocking chair/footstool combo for $35. I'm extremely happy about the rocking chair because I had been praying for one and stopping by our local thrift store every now and then to check if they had any. Last week, they finally had one. And it's the perfect size for me and for our apartment. As T was loading it into our car, an elderly lady walked past us and commented, "That's a really nice chair! I've never seen something so nice in that thrift store. It must just be for you and your baby." I smiled at her and thought to myself, "Yes. This chair is just for us."
Isn't it lovely?
The sobering:
Prenatal classes. Learning about the birth process and the average length of time labour lasts, I have found myself bracing for some hard work ahead. In our class last night, we covered variations on labour and different interventions that can be taken. This included a role-play lesson on c-sections that resembled something like ER. Now that I know what has to happen in a cesarean birth, I really pray that I (and all my classmates) would be spared from that surgery!
The difficult:
Saying goodbye to some of our stuff. As we have been systematically going through every room in our house, we've been clearing out a lot of stuff. Some of the items I couldn't care less about and am happy to give away. Some other items have been harder to part with, either because I remember buying them (and paying good money for them!) or because they represent some sort of memory. It has certainly been a process of letting go and "growing up" of sorts. I wrote more about it here.
The hopeful:
I'm not sure if hopeful is the best word for this. But I have been re-working a painting that I had done 13 years ago as a high school art project. Back when I was a teenager, I had intended for this piece to be a statement against abortion. And thus had included a lifeless fetus as part of the image. Now that I am carrying a child and have grown in my understanding of redemption and life, I wanted the painting to be less depressing and more hopeful. So I have refinished it. I think it's neat that what I painted so many years ago is a reality happening in my own body right now. The remaining question is, where might be a good home for it?
Here's the finished painting. It's a two-part piece titled, "Life."
How the light, the brightness strikes me in your latest painting, Olive! Reminds me of Psalm 139 where the poet says that "even the darkness is as light to You" and then adds, "You knit me together in my mother's womb...the secret place [where] I was not hidden from you...." Your latest artwork so brings out God's intimate presence in each of our lives, even before birth. THANKS!
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