I can't stop talking about it. I called my sisters. I called my friends. I Facebooked it, Tweeted it, and told anyone who would listen. I was just barely able to resist putting the news on my Linked In page, which seemed a bit unprofessional. I started changing diapers in 1987. And this is 2015. Twenty. Eight. Years. Done. With. Diapers. As you know, my husband and I have chosen to accept all the children the Lord sends. Consequently, we have had constant simultaneous seasons at our house all these years, each requiring a sense of humor. When our oldest son got engaged, for example, I had a secret fear that we would be expecting number ten by the time the wedding came. I could just hear the whispers as the Mother of the Groom waddled in on the escort's arm. To my relief, it didn't happen--until 18 months later. "Mom," my son laughed, "I am closer in age to you than I am to my own sister." It's true, as I had him when I was 21 and he was almost 25 when Hope was born. And my daughter-in-law is the best with her great sense of humor. After all, how many new brides can say, "My mother in law is expecting?" Becky is among the few. When my husband and I went up to West Point for, Matthew, our second son's A Day, baby Hope was in the stroller. People looked at us, then at Hope, then at twenty year old Matthew. "Late in life surprise," I explained. Again, a sense of humor is required. I posted the "Done with diapers" news on a few large family Facebook groups in which I participate. I knew they would get just how overjoyed I feel. And they did. My new friend, Karin, actually showed me a resource to estimate just how many diapers I have changed. And the answer? Approximately 51,323 That's fifty one thousand, three hundred and twenty three. The amount of money we've spent on diapers is probably somewhere around there, too. A season, albeit a long one. But I have learned the end of one season will bring the beginning of another. If you're in the trenches of diapers and sleepless nights, hang in there. The next season is coming. "Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalms 127:3 And I must add with a chuckle a verse that many a pastor has quoted from the pulpit. Paul is talking about how Believers will not stay in the grave, but will be changed at the sound of the trumpet. "We shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed." I Corinthians 15:51 The passage is one of great inspiration for those of us who are weary of this world, but it has come to mind many times over the years as I have changed a diaper in the middle of the night. I've pasted a link to the entire passage below. I hope you will look it up. Baby Hope and big girl Hope. The seasons really do fly. |