Why?

The final stages of nesting and pregnancy have arrived. I forgot to eat lunch during my lunch break today because I was too busy using our waterpik to powerwash the gunk out of our kitchen sink faucet handles. Fortunately, my missed lunch was no problem. I was still stuffed from the two bowls of cold chili I called breakfast.

But as I nest and eat my Tabasco-ridden food, I’ve also been wrestling with a few questions.

“Why me?” Why did God choose to entrust Nate and I with this little girl? There are so many barren couples who long for children. Why are we so fortunate?

And most of all “Why her?” God’s made it clear from the start that he has a plan for this little girl. First of all, HE gave her a name before we even knew we were pregnant. As I was reading one day, he pointed out a word and asked me to name our first daughter that. Surprised, I told him I would...you know...one day. Two weeks later, we learned we were pregnant. “Oh, did you mean now?”

Next, as we prepared for our first ultrasound, I asked God to give us a boy’s name so we could be prepared for either a girl OR a boy. After all, I had always been convinced that my first born would be a son. God’s only response was “You have what you need.” Sure enough, the ultrasound technician told us it was a girl.

God didn’t just speak to me about this child. He also spoke to my dear friend and mentor Elise. Elise had been praying for us regularly concerning our plans to move to Thailand. But around the same time that God gave me a name for our child, God began planting an image of a baby in Elise’s mind each time she prayed for us. Elise argued with God, explaining that we were preparing to go to Thailand, NOT preparing for a child. But God refused to remove the image from her mind. After this happened a few times, Elise was silently convinced we would soon be pregnant. Meanwhile, I was still clueless.

These experiences make it clear that He has a plan for this little girl. He’s also revealed His sovereignty to us through His Word. HE knit her together in my womb (Psalm 139:13) and HE will be there at her birth carrying her in His hand (Isaiah 46:3).

I wonder what God’s plans are for this little girl. My hope and prayer is that she’ll have terrific health and will grow to love the ways of the Lord. Nate and I will certainly do everything we can to lead her in that direction. But the truth is, we don’t know what God has planned. Despite what we don’t know, the one promise we CAN hang on to, is that God has a plan for this little girl. She is no mistake.

I don’t know why we have been blessed to be parents or why God has matched us with this particular little girl, but I AM confident that His grace and glory will be displayed through her birth and life.

Caring for the Flour Sacks

The doctor says I’m supposed to put on 35 pounds during my pregnancy. That’s the equivalent of strapping seven flour sacks around my belly and carrying them around with me EVERYWHERE I go.

Now that I’m in the six month of pregnancy, I’ve successfully finished off Flour Sack #3. To show her gratitude, Flour Sack #3 has started to kick me. I hear that I can expect future sacks to be even more violent.

To try to understand pregnancy, Nate decided to strap three (non-kicking) flour sacks to his own waist. Here’s a photo of us celebrating the progress. According to the doctor, I still have four more flour sacks to go, but I have NO idea how they’re going to fit. Perhaps Baby Cheeseman will be the first lady to join the NFL.

Not All Pork Was Born Equal

Last week the Asian market was giving out samples of a food I had always wanted to try. The fact that it was wrapped in seaweed and located in an ASIAN market should have given me the hint that the delicacy wasn’t Mexican. But since it was labeled “pork” and looked the approximate size of a Chipotle burrito, I had associated the food with something as tasty as mouthwatering tamale.

As I approached the sample table, I noticed that the consistency wasn’t quite like the doughy shredded pork I expected. With the seaweed wrapper gone, my dream food looked more like chunks of pale hotdog. Unintimidated, I took a bite. The flavor of marinated cartilage infused with pickled baloney soared through my mouth. DEFINITELY not a tamale.

Trying to appear pleased with my selection, I took a closer look at the ingredients under "Pork" label. “Pig fat, pig hooves, salt and vinegar.” Mmmm. Next time I’ll read the label more closely.