December 10 – “Baby Talk”

It is fun to listen to people talk about babies.  Especially when one couple in the group has just found out they are going to have one.  That happened at our home group last night.  The couple sat through the entire Bible study without saying anything about it.  Then we went into our prayer time and several people shared needs and concerns they had about divorce and dying and other sad things.  Finally the young wife said, with a smile that couldn't be deterred, "On a brighter note, we, my husband and I, are expecting a baby."     "On a brighter note."  I should say so.  We did our best to focus on completing the prayer time without slighting all the other important requests.  And at the final "Amen," the next thing said was, as expected, "So a new baby?  Yay!"  And from that point on the discussion was riveted.  "How far along are you?"  Have you decided on names?"     They were both from somewhere up by Cleveland or Illinois - one of those North Texas places, and they are going up there for the Christmas holidays.  And they have not yet revealed their secret to the parents.  So that became a topic of discussion.  We had to help them out with ideas.  Perhaps handing them a Christmas card addressed to "The Grandparents."  Maybe walk in wearing t-shirts emblazoned with some catchy phrase like, "I'm not fat.  I'm pregnant."  I didn't think that would work, because by no stretch of the imagination does she even look like she's pregnant yet.  One idea was to sneak the ultrasound picture up on the mantle next to the other family pictures and see if anyone notices.  The husband's idea was to walk in the door and say, "Hi, Mom.  Hi, Dad.  So we're pregnant."  Where's the fun in that?  Come on, Dad.  Be creative.  To his credit, he did come up with the idea of making the announcement in Biblical form.  Something like, "Unto us a child will be born …"  Great for the season.  They promised to let us know what they chose.    The conversation soon turned to the delivery itself.  I guess it was doomed to end up there.  Two pediatric nurses on hand was just too great a temptation, although from my limited experience in situations like these, all it takes is two women and the discussion will end up there eventually.  Entertaining was a good word for this part of the evening.  The new Mom started out by indicating her excitement at discovering the availability of a wonderful tool at hospitals.  Seems she heard that there is a little button you can be hooked up to that allows you to pump in pain relief any time you need it.  Sounded like she was all for pain relief.  Sure sounded good to me.  From there, though, they started talking about natural childbirth and midwives.  She was very interested in that option as well.  Seemed to me like that was comparing apples and oranges, though.  Can't really go from total pain avoidance to embracing the pain as a natural part of the process, can you?  She was serious about looking into it, though, so we got her the name of a renowned group that practices out of St. Luke's in Houston.  Speaking of names, the name of one of the midwives there sparked a lot of interest among the guys in our group.  You'll have to check with one of the guys to see if he remembers it.   Luke 1:41-45 says, "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"   Father, bless the little baby that has begun life, and continue the joy in the parents' lives.  Amen.