37 Weeks! (Warning: Long Post)

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Wow. The time has really gone fast. I could have the baby anytime now, although, I don’t really anticipate going into labor earlier than 39-40 weeks.

Still, it could happen…

Am I ready?

Well, it depends on how you define ‘ready’.

If you define ‘ready’ to mean having all the baby clothes and supplies, gear, etc that one would normally have ready before the impending birth of a baby, then, no, I would not say that I am ready. As of today, as far as clothes are concerned, I have one onesie and a few pairs of socks.

If you define ‘ready’ to mean having the basic equipment and supplies needed to have the baby, and some of the things needed for taking care of the baby, then, yes, I would say that I am ready. I have a wrap, cloth diapers, a few blankets, and a nursing pillow. What else do I really need?

Oh, yeah. Clothes.

Well, this is the way I see it. None of my kids have ever gone naked. I have always had what I needed. I will with this one, too. Whether that is through finding what I need myself or through the Lord getting things to me, I know that I will have what I need for this baby. I was thinking about this the other day, and as we are approaching the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I was thinking about how God’s Son came into the world.

Joseph and Mary were not rich. They were away from their family and friends at the time of the birth, and in a town that had no place for a lady in labor. I don’t get the idea that they had intended to have the baby in the stable. It sounds like they tried the inns and that is why it is recorded that there was no room for them.

My guess is that if the inns were full, the stable probably was too. And it was probably not all that private or quiet, either. I would think that there would be people in and out tending to their animals, or servants/slaves tending to the animals. Do you really think they were tip-toeing around? Maybe, maybe not.

Plus, can you imagine having a horse, donkey or camel watching you while you are in labor? Not that they would really get it, but I can just see a camel with a mouth full of hay, munching and swallowing,(and probably belching), and watching the proceedings in the stall or corner Mary and Joseph were finally able to secure.

Oh, and have you been out to a stable lately? It doesn’t smell all that pristine and sterile. Just the kind of place you’d expect to find the King of Kings being born…

They might have brought clothes with them, but it doesn’t sound like they had much to me. The bare minimum that they would need is probably all they had. Swaddling clothes are not a big part of the Western culture as far as baby care is concerned, but at that time they were used. After reading here and here, I don’t get the idea that they were very elaborate or would that it would take a lot to be able to quickly convert something into swaddling clothes.

I was looking at baby furniture catalogs the other day. I don’t know what options Mary would have had had she been in more ideal circumstances. But surely, even in that time, she would have preferred to have something a little more high class to be able to lay her Baby in.

(BTW, I wonder if this was anything close to the picture she had had as she had thought about the birth of the Baby during her pregnancy? She got pregnant by a miracle, was told that she was carrying the Messiah. I would be thinking that there was going to be some kind of awesome occurrence at the birth of such a One. There was, but I wonder what Mary was thinking as she prepared to give birth in a stable, and as she laid the Babe in the manger.)

So, back to the new baby expected at our house…

I am confident that the same way that God provided for His Son, that He will provide for our new little one, even if we just use swaddling clothes… :) I am praying for the things that I will need, but am in eager anticipation of what kind of stunt God is up to here. The birth of this baby will be nothing compared to the birth of the Son of God, but this baby is a miracle. The fact that I am typing this post is a miracle, and the fact that I was even able to become pregnant is a miracle as well.

I know that I can continue to trust Him. Where is the line where we stop trusting God and start worrying? What circumstance is the one that is finally too big for God? So far, I haven’t found it.

Do I worry?

Yes, I do. To my shame. But when I turn my brain back on, I quickly see how stupid it is to be worried about any of the circumstances in my life. God has had a totally consistent track record, not only in my life, but down through the ages. He has kept His word in every area. It is just my silly human fears that would cause me to question the Almighty in a given situation.

Okay, now I am preaching. For the sake of the reader that might have something to do and got trapped reading my post, I now release you. I’m done, for now…