baby blessing

catherine-

hi pretty girl=) i wanted to tell you a little about some of the friends who have been walking with mommy and daddy through this journey with you. we have precious friends with us here in richmond. it's funny to think how lonely i was when we first moved here, because now i am completely amazed by the richness of the friendships we've made in the past 2 years. we are in a small group at church that meets on wednesday nights, and they dedicated last night to you sweet girl! it was such a precious time-we sang and prayed and talked about you and then these wonderful people wrote down little blessings, prayers, or letters to us and put them in a cute little pink scrapbook for us to keep. there were such sweet words spoken-could you hear any of them? it meant so much to us to hear our friends' hearts for you and for your daddy and me and for it all to be such a beautiful representation of our relationships with Jesus and where He has brought each of us up to this point...these people have grown to love you and they can't wait to welcome you into the world, even if it's just for a brief time. they will celebrate with mommy and daddy no matter what=)

all of the words written in the scrapbook are so special, especially because they each represent somebody who has been a part of your little gestational life=) i wanted to share with you one of my favorite verses that somebody included:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

-Romans 8:18

when i read this, it seemed like a summary of all the thoughts that i've had over the past couple of weeks...it also makes me think about something that kevin, our pastor and dear friend, said to us last night. he and his wife libby were giving your mommy and daddy such amazing compliments about how they think we'll be great parents one day-hopefully to you and also to your little brothers and sisters-and also how they think we've been great parents to you in the only way we have been able to while you've been in my belly...as unqualified as we may think we are to be your parents and as undeserving as we may feel of those sweet words, we freely received that compliment...but all i could think was "the parenting we could give her doesn't even compare to what she would have with her heavenly Father if she were taken straight there"...i would still much rather get to keep you and do my best as your mommy, but it's a nice thought, isn't it? knowing that if you're not with us, you're in the best Hands you could possibly be in=)

you were so funny as we were singing and praying and talking. you were moving around all over the place-sticking your little booty out every which way and your feet up by my ribs...it's like you knew we were talking about you=) your daddy and i had our hands on you the whole time feeling everything you were doing in there...after we sang, your daddy read the lyrics to the song "in Christ alone" over you as a blessing-here are the words:

in Christ alone, my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song

this cornerstone, this solid ground,

firm through the fiercest drought and storm

what heights of love, what depths of peace,

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

my comforter, my all in all

here in the love of Christ i stand

in Christ alone, who took on flesh,

fullness of God in helpless babe

this gift of love and righteousness,

scorned by the ones he came to save.

till on that cross as Jesus died,

the wrath of God was satisfied

for every sin on Him was laid

here in the death of Christ i live

there in the ground His body lay,

light of the world by darkness slain

then bursting forth in glorious day,

up from the grave He rose again!

and as He stands in victory,

sin's curse has lost its grip on me

for i am His, and He is mine

bought with the precious blood of Christ

no guilt in life, no fear in death-

this is the power of Christ in me

from life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny

no power of hell, no scheme of man,

can ever pluck me from His hand;

till He returns or calls me home-

here in the power of Christ i'll stand

the last verse is our favorite sweet girl-daddy and i both had to stop singing when we got to that part because we were a little overwhelmed at how it represented our prayer for you and our reassurance of God's plan for your little life...we are trying so hard to not be fearful of death for you-even if it's just minutes from your first cry to your final breath, you are in the hands of Jesus and He has a beautiful home waiting for you with Him in heaven.

i hope i get to show you the little pink scrapbook one day, and that you get to meet all the people praying for you and waiting on your little life to begin. you are precious and we love you so much my sweet girl=)

mommy

ps-happy "term" day! today you turn 37 weeks, and that means you're officially done in there! it also means that you and i have one more week sharing a body=) i have loved this time and will be soaking up all your little movements over the next 7 days;)