"What are you having?"....is a common question that both Nathan and I get now a days. With my baby belly poking out, we get many questions and comments about Baby Black. I always respond, "We are having a surprise!" Some people are shocked. "You don't know what your having?" The older generation relates a lot, "I didn't know what I had either....of course we didn't have the options to know." Some then continue on and guess what we are having by the way I am carrying. I will let you know many people say we are having a boy. My tummy sometimes feels so high I am afraid nodding my chin might bump it.

Another comment we hear a lot after I say the baby's gender is a surprise is, "Just so long as it's healthy....that is all that matters."

I have heard a lot about a "healthy baby" since I became pregnant. I will be honest too, I would love for my baby to be healthy. I would love for their life to be a normal, healthy one. I think that is the human mother in me.

But...would our baby be any less a blessing if it's "unhealthy"? Would our baby be any less welcome or wanted if it were unhealthy? If our baby is born with a defect, isn't God still faithful? If our baby is born with down's, isn't God still good? The Lord uses both the whole and the lame, the healthy and the sick....

YES I would love for my baby to be born healthy, but I want even more for our child to be used for the Lord. There's a story in John 9...the disciples ask Jesus as they pass a man blind from birth. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he is born blind." Jesus answers, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."

Had this young man not been born "unhealthy" his life could not have been used for the Lord and we would be missing this account of God's awesome power in the Word. BOTH the whole and unwhole are used by the Lord. We shouldn't limit Him, shove Him in a box and question Him when things don't turn out how WE want them.

This morning, the words of Jesus speak to my mommy heart, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."

The story behind this post: I woke up today near 6am after a long night of trying to sleep. The sun is poking it's happy rays through the curtains and Nathan is snoozing heavily beside me. Our little one has begun his/her routine. A little movement here, a punch near my hips, a kick in my ribs and what seems like a flip in the middle. I groggily lay there as I think about our baby who will be born in only 7 weeks and the LORD lays this post on my heart. I think to myself, "I need to share this. Lord help me get my pregnant body out of bed without waking my sweetly sleeping husband." As my body rolls out of bed and I shiver as I put my jammies on, I begin to tiptoe out of the room. Right outside our room, to the left, is the underbelly of our staircase and a closet built under it. I begin to round the corner as I notice our orange, plump and pregnant kitty (Lil' Miss) sitting at our opened front screen door. I quickly jerk my body back around the underside of the staircase, "Did she see me?" I ask myself. I peek around and glance at her. She looks back at me as I quickly duck my head behind the wall again. "LORD! Please make her go away. She will meow and wake up Nathan." I peek back over the corner....she is still there. She now commences to lick her fur. You have to meet Lil' Miss to understand the ferocity of her meow. She is loud and she is demanding (and NO she does not get that from me!). I ask the Lord as I peek at her again, "PLEASE make her go away." She doesn't budge. She turns and looks at me and I hide behind the wall again. I then get an idea. I will scare her. I pop my head around the wall and with big eyes and my best ugly, mean and scary face I shake my head at her. She stares at me and blinks her eyes unimpressed. I hide back around the corner and cover my mouth as I try to suppress the laughter that is trying to break forth outta' me! That is probably a face Nathan will never want to see....as I calm down I inquire, "Lord, if You want this posted, please keep her mouth quiet??" I calmly walk over to my front door, look down at my normally HOWLING cat, who silently glances up at me and shut the door. Silence as I tiptoe up our stairs to post. The LORD really wanted this posted as keeping Lil Miss quiet is something only the Lord can do. :)

Guess What!!