16 weeks

Pregnancy is not just a journey ~ but a tapestry of many journeys woven richly into the masterpiece of a story that cannot but testify of God's sovereignty and love.   

As parents, we journey with the growing foetus. Every week brings a fresh development of some sort - and we are as excited (and afraid) as can be. We also journey toward a new season in our marriage with its own challenges as well as blessings, and thus, treasure our final months as just-the-two-of-us. Sort of.

Our God, whose eyes searches the depths of my womb while He knits the little one together fearfully and wonderfully, journeys with us as we pray and grow bolder in our prayers. An occasional glimpse of the little one through a scan and the swooshing sounds of his/her heartbeat fill our hearts with wonder at God's miracle and His image embodied in a growing human body, so snugly dependent on mine for this season in time. Pregnancy does teach us about God - in ways that we were never acquainted with. I would love to think of it as a kind of pilgrimage. 

For me, it is a journey towards accepting... that my life, my relationships, my heart's greatest burdens and my body as I know it will change drastically - and perhaps, never return to what I recognise now as "normal". The weighing scale is showing me numbers that I have not seen in a while. Books tell me that my body is storing up F-A-T so that I can be a milk-making machine when the baby arrives. I guess, I will take their word for it. Anticipate those battle-stripes, dimples and squishies too, if it makes life easier. I am loved anyway.

Last but not least... the little one journeys too with me. In the past 15 weeks... while I did assignments, burned the midnight oil, studied, attended classes, preached, wrote, presented paper, played the piano, taught, served, sang in the choir, battled emotional struggles, cried, laughed, climbed the final stretch toward graduation from the seminary and etc., there was a reason much greater than myself for self-care - i.e. the little companion within me. I look forward to having the pleasure of his/her company on more adventures and "excursions" in the months ahead. There is indeed, something quite extraordinary about the whole experience. Perhaps, it is God's will that mothers-to-be are to delight in discovering its treasures - even where there is pain.