Precious Gifts

The baby showers have come and gone--- all five of them! I wrote in a post a few weeks back about my discomfort with baby showers and any situation where I feel indebted to someone else (see Pride and Pregnancy). I think God wanted to stretch me a bit to work on this area.

Not only were the showers super thoughtful, where others went way above and beyond with food, decor, gifts etc., but they were attended by so many people whom have been a part of our lives over the past twenty-nine years.

Added to the showers, have been the incredibly thoughtful gestures of friends and family. Yesterday I received a call from David, a former teaching friend from Philadelphia. He said he plans to drive up to Williamsport this week to drop off a gift for me. I told him he should just ship it, that he didn't need to make the trek to central PA. He said he wanted to give it to me personally, that it was too big, too important to ship traditionally.

What the heck could it be?

He went on to tell me the story of he and his wife's infertility journey, how they finally became pregnant with a baby but lost it just a few weeks after giving birth (Side note: sharing stories like that to a very pregnant woman, emotions and hormones in all, will lead to sobbing over the phone).

David's father had made them a one-of-a-kind wooden cradle for their baby. David and his wife have had the cradle for years, not really knowing what to do with it, but not really feeling comfortable giving it away either. That is, until now. He wants us to have the cradle.

How can we even receive such a precious gift? I thought.

And that got me thinking some more. We all know John 3:16. We know God gave His only son to die for us. Yet, do we really grasp that gift? Can we really comprehend that sacrifice, that love?

My friend David is giving us a cherished gift, one that, even with my pride issues, crumbles me and humbles me. Even more so should I value the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

I love how God knows exactly how to teach me and mold me. He knows what I need--- I need visuals. I need analogies. I need direct stories of comparison for illustration purposes.

The cradle that we will receive from David symbolizes so much more to me now, and I can only imagine how I'll feel when it's holding my son or daughter.