Linking up with Lisa-Jo for her Five Minutes Friday.
How do you welcome a dream? How do you express the long wait, the deep longing, the desperation of thinking this day would never come? How do you show the deep gratitude and appreciation for the gift you were just given and the way it changed your life?
With the help of your friends and with seven different baby showers, of course!
The phone rang on a Tuesday. She was two months old, healthy, and in need of a family. Were we ready? We asked for a day to seek His wisdom; He said Of Course! We said Yes, yes, yes!
But we had nothing. We were ready but not prepared. So the community of our loved ones and friends rallied around us. They had been walking this journey with us. They had been praying and hoping and waiting just as long. They had been expecting this call with us and, when it finally came, they rejoiced and celebrated with us. But they did more than just declare Congratulations!
They moved to action. So…
Baby shower #1: from my work.
Baby shower #2: from my students
Baby shower #3: from my department
Baby shower #4: from another group of students
Baby shower #5: from our church
Baby shower #6: from my family
Baby shower #7: from Matt’s family
By the time we were done our house looked like this:
This was everyone’s baby. Impatiently expected by a mob, dearly loved by a crowd, warmly welcomed by a community.
It really does take a village to raise and to welcome a child. And we never forgot the blessings of this homecoming that surrounded us with such generosity.
10 comments:
What a welcome!
Gaby,
And this is how it should be. . .friends and family surrounding and supporting you!
What a wonderful welcome to your hearts and home!
So fun to see all those pictures! And it's wonderful that all those people were able to help you welcome Isabel! How much time was there between the call and when you got her?
Deborah, three days :) We got the call on Tuesday and we picked her up on Friday. We had our first shower Thursday before she arrived and all the other ones after she was home, all within a month. It was busy!
What an amazing outpour of welcome from an entire community! God was clearly preparing more than just your hearts to welcome your daughter.
This is so fantastic! You must have felt like you were part of a hurricane of happiness.
Oh Gaby, this is just precious! What a wonderful expression of love and community. A warm welcome indeed! :)
Thank you all for your kind comments. It was a crazy whirlwind of a month! I love Debbie's expression: a hurricane of happiness!
Yes, that was a definite welcome! I love your writings! I love being there with you when you brought your baby home. I love her sleeping self in the carseat in the pictures!
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