On nesting.

Every weekday I drive past a house that has three stands of decorative grass separating their house from the busy road. These variegated, decorative grasses grow all year long and are about 7 feet tall. These are not small blades of grass.

One morning this week as I was driving by, I saw a little bird swoop down to pick up a piece of grass. This piece of grass was easily three times the length of Mama bird, but she was determined to grab it and fly. She swooped in, picked it up and flapped her wings like crazy to get it off the ground. She had a little moment of hesitation once she was airborne, just a little swoop, but she flapped her wings harder and off she went with that huge piece of grass clutched in her mouth. Can you imagine the nest she's building? Talk about the super deluxe model!

I had a "moment" watching this determined Mama. I felt like I know a little bit about how she feels. I'm sure if birds had doctors, they'd tell her to be careful lifting things and would probably be horrified that she thought she was able to lift this exceedingly large piece of grass. If she had my doctors, she'd be hearing about how "high risk" this kind of behavior is. She'd be hearing about all the things that could very well go wrong with her pregnancy, and all the precautions she should take. I'm sure she's (in relative terms) younger than I am, so she's probably never heard she's a little OLD to be having babies. But whatever her circumstance, whatever her path, she was determined. She pressed on. She knows she has to build a nest. It's instinctual. And she's building the best darn nest she can.

You see, I'm building a nest too. I'm building a nest for our miracle baby. I'm building a nest for a baby who has beaten every odd that's been put against him. A baby who's growing faster than the average baby is supposed to grow - even though he's supposed to be lagging in growth because of the unusual nature of his existence. So despite all the warnings, despite all the circumstances, despite all the battles, I'm building my nest. Because I believe our miracle baby is going to continue to beat the odds set against him, showing all those doctors, with all their warnings that the God who made him can defy all their odds.

So you see, I too know I have to build a nest. It's instinctual. And you can bet I'm building the best darn nest I can.