Waiting for Spring

(a continuation of My Very Long Winter)

Days passed. I shared my fears with my husband. Then on Sunday evening, I read Exodus 15. The part that struck me was the last half, verses 22-27. The Israelites had just crossed the Red Sea in a miraculous way and celebrated God's deliverance. Then, three waterless days later, they came to Marah, a pool of bitter water. If anyone needed more faith, more growth, more everything, it was the Israelites. If Marah was a test, then they pretty much failed it in every way. But right after that, God still brought them to Elim, "where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees..." (v. 27). God didn't take them to another Marah, and another, until they got it right. I felt like the Lord brought me to this passage for a purpose, to show me that even though I have failed and still have far to go, He will bring me to Elim. There will be spring in my life again. Soon.

To celebrate and remember this, and to step out in faith, I have chosen the nickname Robin for Baby S. He or she will be a sign that winter is over and spring has returned, that what was seemed to be dead will be alive again, and that there will be new life as well. Wikipedia says, "The American Robin is active mostly during the day (I take this to mean that they sleep well at night!), it is one of the earliest bird species to lay eggs (first back in the springtime), and it is among the first birds to sing at dawn."

from Wikipedia by user Mdf

 

ETA: 11/29/13 I have now changed my daughter's blog name from Robin to Kitty. I first called her Baby S. because I was convinced she was a boy and I wanted to name "him" Samuel. Nope, not so much. :) I love that God gave me a daughter to raise and I think Kitty fits better, although she has been a great sleeper! And oddly enough, the house where we lived in Washington (May to December) was full of Robins during the summer; I would see them all the time. It was a beautiful reminder that spring has finally come.