Due Date

This past weekend was the due date of our second child. It's a weird feeling. You can't help but wonder what it would be like to have that child here. What would it be like to have two kids right now? As I was thinking about this last weekend I thought "I bet we all go through these feelings". You don't have to have miscarried to have a "due date" in mind.

I think we probably all do it. We have a time period in mind, or a picture of how our future is going to work out. For example "I think I'll be married by the time I'm 25. . ." or "I will be making this amount of money in certain number of years. . " etc, you get the picture.

But what happens when our "due date" comes or even passes and we have nothing to show for it. What if it doesn't turn out how we envisioned? It's pretty easy to get discouraged about it and even lose a little hope.

So let me just preface this next part by saying I didn't just immediately arrive to the following thoughts. It's been a process.

After thinking about this stuff the other morning I reminded myself I need to have a big picture perspective. If I start magnifying a particular incident or event (like the miscarriage) it makes me sad. But if I can pan out a little and look at that in the span of my life it gives me more hope. I also have to look at the other side of the coin. Yes, negative things happen, but so do some really great things. Shouldn't I also look at the positive things that I didn't see in my future? I never saw a relationship with God in my future when I was in college. And I sure never envisioned marring a man that would value me enough to save ourselves until marriage. I never really wanted children, and now I have a little man that brings more joy to my life than I ever imagined.

I guess what it boils down to, is not just focusing on the bad or unpleasant things that have happened but having the right perspective and rejoicing in the good.

These past 9 months were not the path I would have chosen for my life. But I trust God that He knows infinitely more than I do about what I need. He can work this past season for good. It's all about perspective.