Do you know how many decisions there are when planning for a baby??? From insignificant (some would say easy) decisions like the color of the nursery to choosing the name your child will be called for the rest of their life, it's enough to make an indecisive person (or at least her husband) crazy!
You can imagine the day when I was in the middle of teaching math to my second graders, and Greg called to tell me that the bedding I had seen and loved at Pottery Barn Outlet months before was on sale. Final sale. As in all sales are FINAL. Did I mention that I'm a returner?? As a result of my indecisiveness, I am a compulsive returner. I normally return more than I buy. Greg says it's a disorder and is convinced there must have been an Oprah episode about it!
I finished the math lesson (I'm sure one of my finer teaching moments), sent my kids to art class, and got on the phone! I had to have help! My cousin, Steph, helped me by looking up other bedding on the internet. Would I be getting a good deal? Was there something else out there I would like better? I had not even begun to seriously look for bedding yet - a decision that would obviously set the tone for my baby's entire life! Right?! If I do choose this Pottery Barn bedding, what about the bumper?? I heard on the Today Show that they were dangerous! Do I buy the bumper too? What does the research say? Oh my! It was too much to decide during one 50 minute planning period!
In the end, Steph and I acknowledged it was a good buy and I loved it, so I should get it! I hung up the phone and, naturally, I walked quickly down the hall to get another teacher's opinion! Mrs. Manley stopped what she was doing to help me be brave and say yes to the bedding!! I ordered what I could online, Greg picked up the rest at the Outlet (he's a good one), and just like that the theme for Marlee's (well she wasn't Marlee yet - that's a decision for another day) nursery had been chosen.
Now to the important part. It sounds silly, but The Lord directed me to that "Sweet Lambie" bedding to remind me of some things. The verse I claimed for Marlee to go along with her sheep-themed nursery was Psalm 23:1. I love this version - "The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need."
I desperately want Marlee to hear and my prayer is that with the miracle of cochlear implants, she will. However, I know (I may not always feel this way but I do KNOW) that no matter the outcome, Marlee will have all she needs because her shepherd promises to provide for and to take care of her. In my saddest and most overwhelming moments, I remind myself of this promise The Lord gave to me before I even met my Marlee.
Last summer, my friend Marcela gave me a framed verse to fit the theme of Marlee's nursery. John 10:3. "The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name." As I prepared Marlee's nursery for her arrival, I could have never known the comfort that verse would bring in the coming months. "The sheep HEAR his voice."
My friend Jennifer reminded me of this verse also, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." She said,"As Marlee learns to hear her mommy and daddy's voice, I am confident she has already been hearing the Lord sing over her."
Because The Lord is Marlee's shepherd, I too, am confident that she hears his voice as he sings over her. She does not know my voice yet, but she knows the voice of her shepherd. What comfort and peace that brings. My prayer is that Marlee will truly have all she needs, not because cochlear implants bring the ability to hear, but because she chooses to follow The Lord, her shepherd.
You are without a doubt the cutest person I know! I'm loving the blog.
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