Oh, No! Don't Put Me in the Nursery!

I was helping a young woman in our church recruit nursery workers for our growing nursery. I had four kids already and #5 was well on the way, so I used our church nursery a lot, especially since my husband, the pastor, couldn't sit with me and help with the kids. So, I knew the value and importance of nursery workers. I went to *Stacy and asked her if she would be willing to take a turn in the nursery once every six weeks or so. Stacy was a mother herself, but her children were long out of the nursery stage and were all grown. I thought she'd love to help us out.

"Oh, no! Don't put me in the nursery. I've served my time in there. Sorry," was her response. I was a bit taken aback, but was too busy with my own family and other responsibilities to give it further thought that day.

But, later, I mentioned it to my husband. His response was, "Hmmm....okay, then, don't ask her again. Just let it go. She must have a reason."

I let it go and thought no more about it. Life continued in its busy way. My husband continued preaching his exclusively expository messages and the nursery, buzzing with babies, was not mentioned to Stacy again.

One day, several months later, Stacy came to me after church. She said, "Hey, I really want you to put me on the nursery schedule. Are you still looking for workers?  I see we have lots of new babies (and we had a set of twin baby boys, too!) and I'm very capable of helping out with that."

I said, "Sure. Would once every six weeks be okay?"

"No," she responded, "I'll just do it every week, during Sunday School. I'll be the nursery Sunday School worker. I mean, if that's okay with everyone."

Smiling, I said, "I do believe that will be okay with everyone involved! Thank you."

And Stacy joyfully served in that nursery during Sunday School for 12 years. Every single week. Without one complaint.

This, people, is grace at work.

If the idea of grace has to be demanded, begged for and hammered into people, it does not come. You may see behavior changes that people will make to avoid being hammered, but you will not see heart changes that transform people into humble, joyful servants.

Humble, joyful service comes only through grace. Grace comes only from the Lord Jesus Christ.

As King David said in Psalm 27:14, "Wait, I say, on the LORD."

Wait.

I can't even express the joy that comes through waiting on the LORD. It is unspeakable.

~Tricia

(*Not her real name)

About Birthdays

Today, one of my sons turns 17 years old. Wow. He's a wonderful young man whom I love to spend time with.

There is something incredibly powerful about my children's birthdays. They touch me more deeply than my own birthdays. Seriously. When they were growing up, birthdays were special because everyone got a day off school, I was always in the kitchen making their birthday cake, which made the house smell wonderful, and we paused for just a moment in the chaos of life, to let the birthday boy or girl know that their birthday was worth pausing for...that they are special, wanted, loved and worth celebrating.

When I first became a mom, I had no idea I would end up being mom to eight kids. As each pregnancy came, I rejoiced with excitement as though it was my first. I followed the progress of my growing baby, taught the other kids that their new sibling couldn't wait to meet them (this avoided jealously altogether) and prepared for the birth of each baby with great anticipation.

I also quickly learned that not everyone shared my great anticipation. Not everyone was so happy about my babies. Not everyone shared my and my husband's joy. I found this incredibly confusing because the Bible tells me that "Children are an heritage of the Lord; blessed it he who has his quiver full of them." (Psalm 127:3) Yet, all my naysayers were Christian people. How can this be? They said things like:

"No way, another baby? How many are you gonna have?"

My response was always, "As many as we want."

"Well, I don't know what you're thinking, but all those babies are expensive and I don't see how you can afford another one!"

My thought in response to this was, "How can we afford NOT to have more?"

"I think you should stop and think about what you're doing here....so many babies can't be good for you."

My thought was, "My doctor says pregnancy is good for me. Since he's the medical professional, I'll go with his opinion."

"Seriously? Another baby already? When are you two going to stop?"

My response, "Seriously. Another baby. Relax, you don't have to pay for this baby or do anything for him or her."

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have two - a boy and a girl - what more do you want?"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have three!"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have four!"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have five! Oh, for crying out loud."

"You two will never have any money."

To my utter confusion, no one in my "Christian" world seemed to be happy about what I thought was one of the greatest blessings of all time.

My response to all this? I didn't argue with my naysayers. What could I say? I was guilty of having "yet another baby." I had no defense.

But I DID have a response. I certainly did. My response?

Have "yet another" baby.

So very, very glad I did!

~Tricia