Having delivered 7 babies, I well remember the struggles of that last month. I was quite a sight in my snug maternity clothes, and comments from strangers in the grocery store didn’t help.
“My heavens! Are you overdue?” Or, “Looks like you’re carrying twins!” My favorite was the gasp of an elderly gentleman who said, “You look like you’re ready to explode!” I tried to view it as his way of sympathizing, though I did see him back up ever-so-slightly when I passed him with my shopping cart.
Our Linnea is currently in that self-conscious 9th month when the whole world feels free to editorialize. Actually, she’s in her 10th month, having passed her official due date several days ago.
It’s bad enough to feel uncomfortable, exhausted, and fat. But on top of all that misery comes the burdensome bob-and-weave of unpredictable emotions.
When a woman approaches (or passes) her due date, she can be just as surprised as those around her at the sudden weeping or flash frustrations. But the truth is, it’s hormonal, and it’s normal.
I remember being a week overdue with our first baby, Nelson, gradually accepting the fact (or so I thought) that the baby just wasn’t ever coming out. Tired of guessing if “tonight would be the night,” I felt better once I decided I was going to be permanently pregnant. And so goes the wild-‘n-crazy thought-life of a full term woman-in-waiting.
Sometimes those of us who are not waiting to give birth might have similar thoughts about another coming event, something many generations have been waiting for: the coming of Jesus. The Bible says he’ll return to our earth as the triumphant King of the World to set everything straight.
When I read today’s news and learn of the horrors in our world, I plead with the Father to orchestrate his Son’s return quickly, so people can be rescued from evil a.s.a.p. Though we know about some of the atrocities, there are many others going on in secret, even involving young children. And sometimes I wonder, “Lord, what are you waiting for?”
The only reasonable answer is that he’s hoping unbelievers will recognize the truth of his Gospel so they, too, will be saved. He may have other reasons, too, but whenever he comes, it will be “in the fullness of time,” his time.
For now, though, when I find myself crying for the sad, sometimes tortured situations of others, God reminds me of an encouraging statement he put at the end of the Bible. Jesus himself said it: “I’m coming soon.”
Meanwhile, in a couple of days I’ll be flying to Florida, bringing another pair of helping hands to my daughter and her family of about-to-be-six. And when I get my first look at her 10-month tummy on Sunday, I know the very best thing to say: “Honey, you look absolutely beautiful!”
“Jesus said, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)
