Show Stoppers

During our Wednesday night fellowship meal last night, we broke the news. We told the folks at LOCC about the Magna-baby and Natalie showed off those precious little photos.

It was interesting to see the responses of different people. An old grandfatherly gentleman, usually in bad health but always chipper, beamed with pride as if he was going to be a grandfather again. He rushed out of his seat when our table stood to offer us hugs, handshakes, and congratulations. He wanted to know all of the details. Later, when Natalie made her way over to his table. His feeble wife asked what our due date was. When Natalie said, "October 10th." Ed stuck out his chest and proudly proclaimed, "October 10th. I could have told you that!"

There is something about pregnancy, parenthood, and expectation that made us more human last night. I am still processing all that happened, but I felt more accepted as a minister last night. I felt like I was not just a hired hand anymore, but a part of the family. It was as if exposing our little secret instantly put flesh on us and gave the folks here new lenses through which to see our family.

I have a lot still to process from last night. More than anything, though, it gave me hope. I don't know what our calling is here, much less how long that calling will last, but last night made me think that if we do end up here for a while that our child would have some wonderful adopted brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. It takes a village to raise a child. If we are called to stay here for the duration, this village may have more promise than I imagined.

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When you tell people you are expecting your first child, people start to give you a lot of unsolicited (though often helpful) advice, commentary, and other random comments. Here are a few show stoppers from last night.

• "When your wife is in labor and you start to feel a little hungry, do not ask her if you can go get a sandwich!"
• A gentleman who has a reputation at our church for saying really akward things to pregnant women started off with a bang when he said to Natalie, "So, now I guess I can start callin' you skinny!"
• "If you have more than one child and you buy your wife flowers, make sure to get at least the same kind of flowers. I got my wife roses when we had our first. Then, I got her some mixed flowers with our second. She was infuriated and asked me why I bought her a bunch of cut weeds!"
• "Welcome to HELL!" (from a young father of three)

And that was just the first night. I can't wait to see what is to come!