It’s been a season…
A long winter. A long trimester.
Spring is here.* Sometime very soon, a new baby will be here.**
I am tempted to complain, and all too often give in to that fleshly temptation- I am a work in progress.
I’m tired. I’m achy. I’m yearning for sunshine so badly.
Despite my negative natural inclination, I am reminded of the multitudes of His goodness, multitudes that bless me every day, so much more than I could ever deserve. He is such a gracious Father. If my mothering could even come close…
It’s humbling.
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
-Romans 2:4 KJV
I’ve gotten caught up in my busy-ness, taking my eyes off of His goodness far too often these past few weeks. I’m finding myself in a place where I seem to see the need for repentance in every area of my life that I take the time to ponder… every area of my heart that I find the courage to open up…
His love is overwhelming, and yes, it does lead me to repentance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am a work in progress, and I have such a long way to go…
It’s doubly humbling that as I walk through this life, stumbling along my on-again off-again always-needing-to-find-my-way-back-to-a-place-of-repentance pathway, His goodness comes 1st, just because of who He is. His goodness comes before my repentance.
691. glimpses of sunshine, growing more frequent
692. the sense of awe and wonder I feel as 2 yr old’s vocabulary grows exponentially day by day
693. a perfectly wonderful ultrasound after a slightly concerning non-stress test
694. homemade bibs
695. crafty family 
696. newly knit baby hats
697. a packed hospital bag
698. getting through our current asthma flare-ups, with both Hope and Grace, managing well with meds, not requiring any ER, hospital, or even clinic visits
699. the blessing of the kindness of a practical stranger- a blog reader has gifted us with a gently used car seat- the one big ticket item we had yet needed to buy (our last one’s handle broke!) Things don’t always hold up through years of use and 7 chidlren… Thank You, Jessica!
700. buying the 1st seed packets of the season
*It may officially be Spring, but as I mentioned on Twitter, I am officially ignoring the weather report, especially the part about the high of 28 degrees and snow accumulation of 3-5 inches. Sigh, life in Minnesota…
**39 weeks, 3 days, and for the record, I have never gone into labor before my due date…
I love your post. My orginial post talked about my walk…falling, getting up and falling only a few steps to what had me fall earlier, and how I was soooo tired of coming to God asking for “forgiveness” over the same thing. Especially when He’s given me tools to handle the situation that causes me to fall??? So thankful for grace. But I didn’t post that. I’m so embarassed to write about my up and down over and over again, seemingly like every other day. So I wrote about something else.
Anyway, you are not alone. We all go through it and with you being pregnant it’s certainly understandable. I have seven, looks like you may too.
My children’s ages are: 17, 16, 14, 11, 9. 8, 7.
Blessings
Nice to see you at Ann’s.
JD
i’m sooooo ready for you to have this baby
Oh, Crystal, believe me, I’m so ready too!!
She’s kicking at this very moment, and I’m so excited to see and feel her kick and squirm on the outside!
Never say never! 😀 My first six children were overdue, almost all by a week or more, then #7 came 3 WEEKS early! OY! Don’t like going overdue, but don’t like going that early, either. Sit down, drink some RRL tea, and keep us posted. 😀 Blessings to you!
Oh, thanks for the reminder- I haven’t had any tea yet today!
I actually had some preterm concerns with this one when I started cramping (and dilating to 1cm!) at 31 wks and spent lots of time on the couch for a few weeks… I resumed all normal activity at 36 wks, and, well, here we are at 39 1/2 wks… but I’d rather see a due date come and go then go through the worry & stress of a 31 weeker in a NICU for weeks… I’m thankful for my healthy very full term big babies, even if these last days are hard!
I will definitely keep everyone posted! Blessings to you, too!
Hello!
You have a lovely family and congrats on the new little one coming soon! 
I can over from Ann’s! I totally hear you…thank the Lord that He WILL complete the work that He has started in us!
Hey, you got your hospital bag packed! Sounds like the things on your ‘to do’ list are getting checked off and what an awesome blessing from Jessica! I bet these accomplishments feel good and ease the stress.
Yay for lists of things to be grateful for!
~traci
xoxo
I hope by this time next week “new baby” tops the list!
Love your thoughts, as always!
We had snow here too, even though the calendar is telling us it’s spring. The temps are low today but I see the sun shining through our windows and I am loving it.
Love your thoughts. So sweet.
Hope you are feeling well for this last trimester. Glad to hear the ultrasound was good.
Ruth