Lying in wait

Megan is concerned about her shape. Not like you would expect of a pregnant woman. She is not concerned that she is getting out of shape, that is an expected by-product of remaining horizontal for several months. She is also not concerned that her belly is super-sizing itself, another expected change. She is used to the idea that 3 protein drinks per day along with normal meals will also change her shape. But what she really wants is to be a pentagon. The problem is that when you start eliminating positions, IE standing, sitting, lying on your stomach, lying on your back, what you are left with is two positions, one hip, or the other hip. You can move from the bed, to the couch, put your head at either end of either piece of furniture, move to one of the mats on the floor, put your head at either end of that, move the mat outside, put your head at either end outside for a while, and repeat, and by the end of the day you have only been in two positions. You can read, watch, TV, do crosswords, shop online, write e-mails, cards, letters, take a bath, baby-sit, eat, still only two positions. She figures a pentagon offers a few more options.

Aside from the two-hip limitation life has normalized for the most part, I am a little too busy with work to get much done in the way of home projects, and Megan spends a lot of time wishing she could help me with projects when I do do them. We are hopeful in our waiting stage, though we realize that there may be major battles still ahead. We don't know. We don't spend a lot of time wondering why this has happened to us. We imagine that the why part will be answered over the course of a long, long, long time. Already we are confident that there are sufficient reasons.

Believing that everything occurs by chance does not suit me. When we look back at that morning that we were frantically trying to get to Tampa, and how frustrated we were that the flight cancelled for a mechanical issue, how convinced we were that things weren't working the way they were supposed to, how we later found out that the Dr. was out of the country, and a wave of 4 consecutive hurricanes was arriving at the same time, I can't feel too crazy for thinking that it wasn't coincidence. Last week we were boarding our passengers in San Diego when my plane had a mechanical issue that delayed us a half hour. We took the passengers off and they were all frustrated. By the time we got it fixed a mother and daughter showed up late with a family medical emergency, we were able to take them because of that delay. I can't think I'm too crazy for thinking we were inconvenienced for their benefit, in their hour. They looked so happy to have made the flight. Walking back to my plane at LAX later that day I was humming a hymn that says: "praise to the Lord who over all things so wondrously reigneth," as a 747 lifted off for Bangkok, "shelters thee under his wings, yes, so gently sustaineth," as a commuter started up it's way too loud engines for Santa Barbara, "ponder anew, what the almighty can do" as luggage trucks, catering trucks, TSA, tugs, and lavatory service carts clattered by. In our darkest hour, in our daily work, God is meddling.

Far be it from us to need to know why what happens when it does, but my reasons for believing that the reasons are good are well documented.

By the way: I felt the big guy kick for the first time at homegroup on Thursday!