A Loaf of Bread

Every Baby Comes Carrying a Loaf of Bread Under His (Her) Arm - Spanish/Italian/Something Proverb

That has certainly been true in our case.

See...photo evidence.

The day Annika was born, my husband had his first job interview for his new job.  Yes...that very day.  As in, he had the interview scheduled for 9 AM and my water broke at 7 AM.  Whee!!  I actually didn’t go into labor until 4:30 PM and she was born at 7:45 PM.  

So, it all worked out.  Then he had his second interview when she was only 11 days old and he got the actual offer just before she turned 6 weeks.

A really great loaf of bread.  We have been praying for this job for the last 6 years!

Seriously...he switched from a career in teaching to law school back in 2010 and we have been praying for this job ever since he first started.   

Six years!  

There were many, many dark moments during that time.  Many tears and lots of despair.

It’s been a bunch of tough lessons about learning patience and trust and hope and all that good stuff.  Very, very tough.  But amazingly enough, we did okay.  We always had enough money each month.  Somehow, something would always come through so all our needs were always met.  We learned lots of frugal habits….like not buying paper towels (a habit I have since given up).  After years of looking for a sustainable, effective work at home job, where I could actually make money working at home, I finally found one.  

So we did okay....with some (lots of) help.  But, we were still waiting and hoping for that job. Finally, finally, finally it came.

God is always faithful. God always takes care of us. Many people would say that one shouldn't have a baby if things aren't just peachy-keen financially. That you need to own a house and have a big bank account and money for college. The thing is, things are almost never peachy-keen. And even when they are, things can change in an instant. While owning a house and a big bank account and money for college are good things, they aren't necessary. Four out of my five children would not exist if we had waited for things to be financially perfect. That would be sad....those children not existing. I don't know what they will do in life, but hopefully they will grow up and make the world a better place. They will be kind and helpful and smart and do good things.  

New babies are worth it.  Even when they don’t come bearing such an obvious loaf of bread, they always bring their own blessing and joy. Babies are people and people are worth fighting for. They are worth bringing into the world, even when life isn't perfect. Life is rarely perfect. If no one had babies unless life was perfect, this world would be a much emptier place.

Babies have this tendency to make the world better, to bring out the best in others. To inspire others to be more giving and caring and loving. The world certainly needs more love.

Parenthood is about the only thing left that the world encourages unselfishness in. Babies have a tendency to make people less selfish. Which is a very, very good thing. Here's to all the babies!!

Have a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving!.

Would You Rather?

Did you ever play the "Would You Rather" game?

You know...where you ask would you rather have x thing or y thing happen.

We used to play it with my cousins.

Some of the questions were normal enough?

Would you rather be super tall or super short?

Would you rather be super good at art or at school?

Would you rather have a horse or a swimming pool?

But some of the questions were rather tragic.

Would you rather be blind or deaf?

Would you rather you husband died or your child?

Would you rather lose an arm or a leg?

It's a pretty terrible game because life doesn't work that way but it's tempting to think that it does.  It's tempting to think that because we are going through X terrible thing that Y terrible thing can't also happen. Or it's tempting to think that once we are no longer suffering from X than suddenly we will suffer from Y. 

Right now we are dealing with unemployment and financial worries and uncertainty about the future.  And, it is HARD, HARD, HARD. 

But, everywhere I turn, I see friends suffering from various health-related issues.  Both children and adults diagnosed with life-long chronic diseases, severe allergies, behavior issues, mental illness, unexplained illness, cancer, hormonal issues, extreme fatigue, chronic pain, hospitalizations, needed surgeries, asthma.  The list goes on and on. It seems as though almost every family has SOMETHING going on health-wise.

And. so far we don't.  So far, we have been fortunate to only have to deal with minor, acute illness or the occasional accident/broken bone thrown in there just to remind us why we do need health insurance. But nothing serious and nothing chronic..so far. 

And that scares me.  Because I have this irrational fear that once we are no longer suffering from unemployment or financial issues that a health crisis will descent upon us like vultures on a decaying carcass.  I know it's irrational...because life doesn't work that way.

But that's the way my mind works.  I blame it on Would You Rather games as a child. Suffering from X doesn't protect us from Y and suffering from Y doesn't guarantee that we won't also suffer from X, Z and Q. 

Suffering is a strange thing and it's hard not to compare our trials to someone else's trials.  Some people seem to have lots of suffering and others not so much.  And what one person finds a major trial, another person might find to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

I will admit that I have this tendency to get irrationally annoyed at moms who complain about things like their husband working late or they have to do bedtime by themselves or that their kids wake up too much.  I forget that their trials are a real trial to them and that I've never walked in their shoes so I don't know what it's like. Everyone has their difficulties and their sufferings and fortunately we don't get to choose. 

Right now, I'm just trying to get through what we are dealing with right now and not worry about what might happen and not compare what I'm going through to what others are going through. Because everyone is going through something and we all just need to support each other as best as possible and not worry about whose suffering is worse or harder or more terrible.