Barbie Princesses
God has a sense of humor. How do I know? First: He made you and me. Second: He made children. He also gave us the process whereby children are made. Ahem. I wonder if the angels look down upon us so engaged, and laugh? “This they call ‘love?'”
My wife and I have two of those miraculous entities known as “offspring.” And we also know a little (a very little) of the derision large families often receive: “You have how many?” Only for us the question is “They’re how far apart? What were you thinking?” We weren’t (did you not see the previous paragraph?).
Only that’s not quite true. Certainly passion played a part, but the truth is we were told we wouldn’t be having any children. And then eight years into our marriage, we had a son. A precious boy.
And then the Lord shutteth up my wife’s womb tighter than a water-proof drum.
We had our son, our miracle child, and thought we were done.
Eight years later, after years of questioning looks (“When are you having another one?”), unplanned, unexpected, unlooked (but not unhoped) for, the unthinkable:
In the sixteenth year of our marriage, my wife was pregnant again! “Didn’t plan that very well, did you?” people would ask. “We didn’t plan it at all,” we would invariably answer.
Folks didn’t quite know what to do with that, but it was marvelous in our eyes. We–my wife and I–were often rendered quite speechless at what the Lord had done…
Which brings me to right now, tonight, six years after our daughter entered our lives. As I was putting her to bed, she asked me to read her the story of Princess Aurora’s (Sleeping Beauty) wedding preparations. She has a pillow book deatailing the account of how the princess came to find just the right wedding gown.
My daughter is in every sense a little girl, and my princess. In fact, today is her birthday. Happy birthday, Bella! 
Her brother is no longer little, but is nevertheless very much all boy, and wants to be the hero. So it was, after reading Sleeping Beauty with my daughter, I found myself slaying orcs with my son. (And in the midst of this–two kids wanting my time and attention–my wife was down with a migraine. She hasn’t had one in years. Please pray for Lisa).
And I would like to think that God looks down with pleasure on my little family.
Both children were unlooked for, but both are entirely blessings. Having them in such different phases of life can be exhausting.
But neither my wife, nor I, would trade them in for anything.
When’s the last time the Lord brought something unexpected into your life? How did you respond?
