grace laden

What a grace laden day.

It started incredibly early with great grace on my dad's part, loading the car in the rain and getting us to the airport, and the grace never ended.  From the girls having extraordinarily great and helpful attitudes to every flight being on time and every bag arriving, from an incredibly crazy and hot Cap-Haitian airport of chaos that the Lord helped all five of us patiently and positively wait and wade through, from the new neighbors managing insane-town to pick us up, to a house that has been LIVED in and is clean and a wonderful dinner I didn't make or help make with the Heckman's and McGhee's and interns, to friends coming galore we're so happy to see, to thoughtful good friends who sent a guy on a Moto with chicken and beef and sausage to get us started, to the girls being blissfully happy to be home and playing outside all evening and afternoon...

To the flight attendant that stopped me from getting on the very last flight, pointing to my stomach and saying, "Ma'm, I have to ask you something," and me trying to figure out what I was going to say about flying 38 weeks pregnant...only to be met with, "Is this going to be a girl or a boy???!!!" and then receiving a totally unexpected hug.

To the moment, bumper to bumper in sweltering, dusty, crowded, totally chaotic town, when I panicked. "What are we doing? This is insane...who comes BACK to this to HAVE a baby?" and my mom's voice almost audibly, somehow still, quickly spoke her favorite phrase in a firm, "He. has. not. brought. you. this. far. only. to. abandon. you. now." quickly restoring my faith and peace. 

Grace laden day. 

Baby, I drew on it my every breath, and though I'm pouring sweat, though I'm no where CLOSE to unpacking and there feels like an awful lot to do, though our neighbors and dear friends of FIVE YEARS have all their boxes packed for tomorrow, though I'm sore and have been up since 3:30...He met me every step of the way and did an awful lot I couldn't do, and brought much joy to boot, and I'm so thankful. 

Praising the Lord and thank you, each, for your mighty prayers at work today.

We are home, and it's hot and hard and beautiful and good, and there is much to be done in the tomorrows, and His grace enough and new for each of them.