I feel like I have been a 5'4" hamster running for all I'm worth... and getting nowhere!
Our house had some damage that needed to be repaired and since it was still under warranty, the builder hired a contractor to re-stucco our upstairs. Well, they aren't quite done yet and we've been at this for a little over a week. I am not complaining! Really, they're going much faster than I thought! But trying to do a little preschool with the 3 yr old is a little trickier when you have people climbing all over the scaffolding around your house.
On top of that, C has been a little ill for a few weeks now. She's had GI troubles for about 4 weeks and despite making some dietary changes, we haven't been able to resolve them on our own. On Tuesday, we have an appointment to see a pediatric GI specialist. I'm nervous. We are anticipating she will be tested for Celiac Disease. I probably wouldn't be so worried, but this isn't the first time we've had to wonder about Celiac Disease. And the last time they did a blood draw to check for gluten issues, I'd already taken her off of gluten for a couple weeks so the results then might not have been reliable. I'm thankful she doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain. But I'm also one of those people that gets nervous when a question has been asked and I have to wait for the answer. Plus it's my baby girl.
So laundry is soooo far behind and I'm about 2 runs of the dishwasher away from being caught up in the kitchen.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to prepare a witness talk to give to some kids who are preparing for Confirmation. The session is this afternoon. This was a little bit of a difficult assignment- I was asked to compare being pregnant to having the life of Christ within me. I can see some similarities, but I think some of the more obvious dissimilarities stuck out for me. And having experienced a miscarriage between J and C, my thoughts went to the permanent nature of our life in Christ and how that was a pregnancy that did not end well. So I struggled in preparing this talk. But God is good, and I think he may have helped me figure out what to say.
So here is my talk:
Good afternoon, everybody. I’m T and this is V. Well, at least we think it’s V. It might be Matthew, but the ultrasound tech felt fairly sure the baby is a girl so we’ll just go with that for the time being. And I want to talk to you a little bit about this experience of being pregnant and how it, in some ways, parallels some aspects of our life in Christ; the life we experience in the Church.
When I first found out I was pregnant, we couldn't see anything on an ultrasound. And even after a couple weeks, we still couldn't see a heartbeat. After we had a heartbeat, it took about 10 more weeks before I could start feeling any movement. About 2 weeks ago, my husband could finally put his hand on my stomach and feel our baby move.
I think it’s amazing that even before there is a heartbeat, my body is already producing all sorts of hormones and chemicals in reaction to the life that is inside of me.
I’d love to tell you that all these changes are glamorous. People always say that pregnant women have a certain glow about them. And all those hormones are supposed to really help clear up the skin and keep my hair growing in nice and full. Honestly, some of the changes aren't so glamorous. I cry at the drop of a hat! I am total waterworks. Just last weekend I watched a YouTube video of a flash-mob that had a bunch of people in France or Spain from a local orchestra and a few choirs start performing Ode to Joy in a town square. Why this inspired me to cry from about mid-way through, I can’t begin to explain. And now that we’re entering the holiday season, I know that if the TV is on, I need to have a box of Kleenex nearby. This is not my first rodeo, people. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old at home and I know what happens on TV this time of year. First we get the Publix commercials about Thanksgiving dinner. Oh boo-hoo! The family is eating Turkey together and Publix is so happy that could happen. I get choked up! And then, as we get closer to Christmas, it only gets worse! Publix changes their ads ever-so slightly to reflect the change in holiday. Coca-cola has commercials with various creatures kindly sharing beverages out in the cold. Oh, and then there are the hallmark card commercials and the coffee commercials. The ones about returning soldiers are the worst! And last time I was pregnant, there was quite the run of St. Luke Cataract & Laser Institute commercials with all these pictures of people enjoying life and some cheesy song in the background about “This beautiful life.” I was a sobbing mess! “The people just want to see!”
But in all sincerity, long before I can feel anything, the changes I have experienced are real. The life I am carrying inside of me is real. And in some ways, our life in faith can be like this. Long before we feel its affects, we are being changed.
Faith is a gift from God. Never forget that detail. No matter how you perceive your faith right now, or how you have in the past or how you will in the future, it is a gift and it is not of your own power. It is from God. But it is a gift that changes us, even before we can know it is there, even before we can feel it. It is just as real as a child in the womb.
Like the child in the womb, our faith requires nourishment and a safe environment to grow and thrive. In much the same way that God designed us to be nourished and cared for by our parents, he also guides the Church to be that conduit of the Grace we need, the Grace we need to grow in our faith.
Through the Church, we have the Sacraments; outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. Our life of Grace and in the Church begins with Baptism. We are marked permanently and claimed for Christ. But it doesn't stop there. We return to the Church to be nourished through the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Right now, you’re preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. In this Sacrament, you will be sealed with the Gift of the Spirit. Of course there are other sacraments too. We have the Sacraments of Vocation, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony, that help us fulfill the various roles God calls us to and, ultimately, fully participate in the life of the Church. And we have Anointing of the Sick for those times when we are faced with certain medical issues and we need God’s grace. But just like our analogy of the child in the womb, overtime, the evidence of our faith can’t be hidden. Faith changes us. We live our faith. We are called to make choices based on the faith we have received. We reach out, in love, to people who need us, because our faith transforms us. We grow in a more intimate relationship with Christ, because the grace of the Sacraments changes us.
Now, our analogy isn't perfect. Obviously, women don’t stay pregnant forever. Come March, [V] will be born and my husband and I will present her to the Church to be baptized. We know that the life in the Church is the best and finest we can offer our children, just as your parents knew when they presented you to the Church for Baptism and now as you prepare for Confirmation. I will continue to pray for you during your sacramental preparation, that, as it says in Hebrews 4: 16 “[You will be able to] confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” Thank you and God bless you.
UPDATE- C is fine. :)
Our house had some damage that needed to be repaired and since it was still under warranty, the builder hired a contractor to re-stucco our upstairs. Well, they aren't quite done yet and we've been at this for a little over a week. I am not complaining! Really, they're going much faster than I thought! But trying to do a little preschool with the 3 yr old is a little trickier when you have people climbing all over the scaffolding around your house.
On top of that, C has been a little ill for a few weeks now. She's had GI troubles for about 4 weeks and despite making some dietary changes, we haven't been able to resolve them on our own. On Tuesday, we have an appointment to see a pediatric GI specialist. I'm nervous. We are anticipating she will be tested for Celiac Disease. I probably wouldn't be so worried, but this isn't the first time we've had to wonder about Celiac Disease. And the last time they did a blood draw to check for gluten issues, I'd already taken her off of gluten for a couple weeks so the results then might not have been reliable. I'm thankful she doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain. But I'm also one of those people that gets nervous when a question has been asked and I have to wait for the answer. Plus it's my baby girl.
So laundry is soooo far behind and I'm about 2 runs of the dishwasher away from being caught up in the kitchen.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to prepare a witness talk to give to some kids who are preparing for Confirmation. The session is this afternoon. This was a little bit of a difficult assignment- I was asked to compare being pregnant to having the life of Christ within me. I can see some similarities, but I think some of the more obvious dissimilarities stuck out for me. And having experienced a miscarriage between J and C, my thoughts went to the permanent nature of our life in Christ and how that was a pregnancy that did not end well. So I struggled in preparing this talk. But God is good, and I think he may have helped me figure out what to say.
So here is my talk:
Good afternoon, everybody. I’m T and this is V. Well, at least we think it’s V. It might be Matthew, but the ultrasound tech felt fairly sure the baby is a girl so we’ll just go with that for the time being. And I want to talk to you a little bit about this experience of being pregnant and how it, in some ways, parallels some aspects of our life in Christ; the life we experience in the Church.
When I first found out I was pregnant, we couldn't see anything on an ultrasound. And even after a couple weeks, we still couldn't see a heartbeat. After we had a heartbeat, it took about 10 more weeks before I could start feeling any movement. About 2 weeks ago, my husband could finally put his hand on my stomach and feel our baby move.
I think it’s amazing that even before there is a heartbeat, my body is already producing all sorts of hormones and chemicals in reaction to the life that is inside of me.
I’d love to tell you that all these changes are glamorous. People always say that pregnant women have a certain glow about them. And all those hormones are supposed to really help clear up the skin and keep my hair growing in nice and full. Honestly, some of the changes aren't so glamorous. I cry at the drop of a hat! I am total waterworks. Just last weekend I watched a YouTube video of a flash-mob that had a bunch of people in France or Spain from a local orchestra and a few choirs start performing Ode to Joy in a town square. Why this inspired me to cry from about mid-way through, I can’t begin to explain. And now that we’re entering the holiday season, I know that if the TV is on, I need to have a box of Kleenex nearby. This is not my first rodeo, people. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old at home and I know what happens on TV this time of year. First we get the Publix commercials about Thanksgiving dinner. Oh boo-hoo! The family is eating Turkey together and Publix is so happy that could happen. I get choked up! And then, as we get closer to Christmas, it only gets worse! Publix changes their ads ever-so slightly to reflect the change in holiday. Coca-cola has commercials with various creatures kindly sharing beverages out in the cold. Oh, and then there are the hallmark card commercials and the coffee commercials. The ones about returning soldiers are the worst! And last time I was pregnant, there was quite the run of St. Luke Cataract & Laser Institute commercials with all these pictures of people enjoying life and some cheesy song in the background about “This beautiful life.” I was a sobbing mess! “The people just want to see!”
But in all sincerity, long before I can feel anything, the changes I have experienced are real. The life I am carrying inside of me is real. And in some ways, our life in faith can be like this. Long before we feel its affects, we are being changed.
Faith is a gift from God. Never forget that detail. No matter how you perceive your faith right now, or how you have in the past or how you will in the future, it is a gift and it is not of your own power. It is from God. But it is a gift that changes us, even before we can know it is there, even before we can feel it. It is just as real as a child in the womb.
Like the child in the womb, our faith requires nourishment and a safe environment to grow and thrive. In much the same way that God designed us to be nourished and cared for by our parents, he also guides the Church to be that conduit of the Grace we need, the Grace we need to grow in our faith.
Through the Church, we have the Sacraments; outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. Our life of Grace and in the Church begins with Baptism. We are marked permanently and claimed for Christ. But it doesn't stop there. We return to the Church to be nourished through the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Right now, you’re preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. In this Sacrament, you will be sealed with the Gift of the Spirit. Of course there are other sacraments too. We have the Sacraments of Vocation, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony, that help us fulfill the various roles God calls us to and, ultimately, fully participate in the life of the Church. And we have Anointing of the Sick for those times when we are faced with certain medical issues and we need God’s grace. But just like our analogy of the child in the womb, overtime, the evidence of our faith can’t be hidden. Faith changes us. We live our faith. We are called to make choices based on the faith we have received. We reach out, in love, to people who need us, because our faith transforms us. We grow in a more intimate relationship with Christ, because the grace of the Sacraments changes us.
Now, our analogy isn't perfect. Obviously, women don’t stay pregnant forever. Come March, [V] will be born and my husband and I will present her to the Church to be baptized. We know that the life in the Church is the best and finest we can offer our children, just as your parents knew when they presented you to the Church for Baptism and now as you prepare for Confirmation. I will continue to pray for you during your sacramental preparation, that, as it says in Hebrews 4: 16 “[You will be able to] confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” Thank you and God bless you.
UPDATE- C is fine. :)