May
29
2018
A Joyful Revelation
Posted in Family Life 4 Comments
If anyone asked me to describe the past nine months, I could sum it up in one word.
Waiting.
Waiting for our daughter and her husband to become parents.
Waiting for our first grandbaby to arrive.
Every Tuesday morning, my daughter would send me a text.
The picture was from a pregnancy app she had on her phone.
The text would be a drawing of a particular fruit or vegetable.
It would show the number of weeks and weight and length of her little baby.
I looked forward to my Tuesday morning text.
It was very hard to go grocery shopping since everything reminded me of our grandbaby.
The weeks progressed; the baby grew.
My daughter’s back got to be quite painful and no position was comfortable for her.
At thirty-six weeks, she had exams with her doctor every week.
The baby was in position.
We waited.
Her due date was quickly approaching.
The day before her due date, she was scheduled to have a routine, non-stress test.
Everything went well.
She was told the baby was about eight pounds.
She was also told that her baby was breech.
It was like a wave came crashing over her.
She knew that I had two breech babies, but her little baby had been head down.
Since the baby was bigger and ready to be born, a C-section was recommended.
She called her husband; later she called me.
The thing about parenting is, even though you are always a mom, your role changes.
A mother becomes a listening ear and one who will give encouragement.
This decision was one that she and her husband had to make.
It was between them and their doctor, with the safety of their baby coming first.
They could try to turn the baby, but there was no guarantee the baby would stay in that position.
After an afternoon of talking to each other and their doctor, they decided to have a C-section.
It was scheduled for the following day, which was the baby’s actual due date.
A text went out to all her siblings asking them to pray.
The next day came with rain and clouds.
Yet despite the weather, it was the most joyful day.
This was the day the waiting would be over.
This was the day the baby would arrive.
Family texts went back and forth.
Prayers were lifted all morning to the throne of God.
Finally, a text came from my son-in-love that they were headed back to the operating room.
We needed to wait a little longer.
That waiting was torturous.
We were all so close to meeting this little one, who we already loved.
None of us were at the hospital.
We knew that we would be told when it would be a good time to come.
I imagined how the text might read.
I assumed it would be to my husband and I and then to the rest of the family.
When the text came, it was to everyone.
I got ready to read those words that I had been waiting for.
Baby is here and healthy.
Momma is doing great.
We will send out all details once grandparents meet Baby T.
Thank you for praying.
Just like that, I was a grandmother.
I had been a grandmother all along, but now the baby was here.
I did not know if I was a grandmother to a little boy or a little girl.
I called my dear friend to share the news, as much as I knew at the time.
The family texts kept coming.
Questions about birth time and weight.
Emojis of exclamation points and question marks.
Nothing was going to be revealed until the grandparents met the baby first.
The more I thought about it, I appreciated my daughter and son-in-love’s heart.
This was a decision they made to honor their mother and father.
We would have to wait a little longer.
They wanted to reveal their precious baby in person.
My husband and I decided to drive to the hospital right then.
He left from work and I met him there.
We walked up to the maternity floor together.
My son-in-love’s parents were already in the waiting room.
They had been there for a while.
Nothing was going to happen until all four of us arrived.
Our son-in-love came to get us.
We all reached the room; I could not wait to see my daughter and our grandbaby.
My son-in-love directed me to go in first.
The curtain was pulled over.
Are you ready? He asked his wife.
I’m ready, I heard my daughter say.
He pulled back the curtain and I saw her.
My daughter, the new mother, was holding her precious baby in her arms.
I saw the pink hat.
I knew it! I said with more joy than I ever thought possible.
I was a grandmother to a precious baby girl.
My husband and I walked over to our daughter.
I looked down at this sweet baby who looked just like our daughter at birth.
I looked at my husband and I knew that he saw it, too.
I went over to the bed and leaned over to kiss the top of her head.
I love you so much and I am so very proud of you, I said to my daughter.
The little baby, the girl that I anticipated, was finally here.
Just like that, the next generation of our family was in our daughter’s arms.
I have thought about that moment when I first saw my granddaughter.
Memories came flooding back as I looked at my daughter holding her daughter.
What a privilege to see my children’s children.
What a joy to witness.
Our daughter and son-in-love honored us that day.
A text or a phone call was not the way they wanted to share their wonderful news.
Our daughter wanted to see our faces when we saw our grandbaby for the first time.
We fell madly in love with her.
She was our grandchild in utero as well.
We just had not met her yet.
We already loved her for the entire nine months before she was born.
Now that she was here, I could see her full head of dark hair and I could smell her sweetness.
God is so good.
God is sovereign over circumstances.
Nothing happens apart from the will of God.
There is such comfort in that truth.
We rejoice.
I want to be called, Grandma.
My husband wants to be called, Pop-Pop.
We hold the next generation in our arms; the page has been turned.
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)
At last!… so happy for all if you Gina!! Tears of joy are upon my cheeks. Congratulations
Thanks, Gale!
Our granddaughter has captured our hearts.
Gina
So happy for you all! Congratulations Gina
Thanks, Jen!
She is so sweet.
We love every minute of being grandparents.
Gina