Pregnancy & other worthwhile things

I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy....not too much longer to go (I hope!) until we meet our sweet baby. He is moving everywhere...I don't remember having a baby this active ever during a pregnancy!! I can't wait to meet him and see what all those squirms, kicks and rolls look like in person :). That being said I'm getting more and more uncomfortable.
I'm enjoying pregnancy and having bittersweet emotions knowing that this is likely our last pregnancy and the completion of our family. We feel so blessed. Not long after I experience the overflow of emotions that come with intense gratefulness the nausea kicks in...seems like all of the sudden the past week or two it has really picked up again. Not fun. I also have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel that is bad enough that my fingers and palm are tingly or numb about 80% of the time...and sometimes they ache from my fingers to my elbow. My nose is wider, which I hate, but it goes away after pregnancy...and my back aches at times. These are all common complaints of pregnancy and many women experience them. In some odd way I feel privileged to walk this road of discomfort knowing that many have walked it graciously before me. The end result is life. Consider that for a moment; babies have been born for centuries...you and I were babies at one point...but to have life conceived in love, grown in travail and birthed in labor to bring forth promise, hope and God's personal creation is awesome in the most descript nature of the word.

How often do we walk roads which present unkind and uncomfortable side-effects and question whether we are walking where we "should" be walking?? How many times do we count ourselves blessed only when our lives present material comfort, beauty and relational warmth? This thinking, it seems, is so backward....more often than not, our discomfort in the midst of serving the Lord or working toward a goal is confirmation that we are on the right track!!

Today, in the midst of my discomfort I have an odd joy...I feel blessed not because I have no symptoms of pregnancy...but because the symptoms of pregnancy serve to remind me that I am indeed carrying a healthy, growing baby who carries within him the promise of tomorrow, the potential to know the Father and reflect His glory and who houses within himself all God has gifted him with to do great things. Perspective is everything!!