In my way

I don't know about your kids, but my kid is always in my way.  When I was first pregnant, she was in my way of being vomit-free for the day, or even being vomit-free for the hour.  Then as my belly got bigger, she was in my way of reaching my shoelaces.  Then as a newborn, she was in my way of a full night's sleep.  The list goes on and on.  Now that she's bigger, she is constantly standing in my way.  Every time I turn around, she standing underfoot and in my way of where I'm going.  She's in my way of having privacy in the bathroom, she's in my way of watching my own tv, and she's in my way of having a clean house.

All this in my way makes me think - what's the lesson here?  God must think of me like that.  His plan is perfect and for my own good and full of love and wisdom, but I'm always in His way.  While He loves me dearly, it's gotta annoy Him.  And disappoint Him.  And frustrate Him.  But He loves me enough to make up for it.  And that's certainly how I feel about my sweet pea.

She is always in my way, which makes life slower than it used to be, and it also means she's in "my bubble" of personal space.  You see, I have been living with a baby, then a toddler, and now an elementary school age kid.  One day she'll be a *gasp* teenager.  One day, she won't want to hang out with me.  One day she won't want to be close to me - so close that she's in "my bubble."  And one day, she'll move out!  Maybe this time of "in my way" is not only a lesson, but a blessing.  The older I get, the more I understand that everything is always for a season and it'll be different in what feels like a blink of an eye.

So, the baby I wanted for so long, took a year to conceive, and nine months to wait to be delivered, was the one I was told by the doctors to prepare myself for losing.  She was very ill when she was born and things were not looking good.  God was with us and saw fit to heal her completely and quickly.  If nothing else, so that I would appreciate my little one, even when she's in my way.