"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope." Psalm 130:5

Today's a big day.  Today marks the end of my first trimester of pregnancy... we are a 1/3 of the way there! :)  It's hard to believe that 13 thirteen weeks ago, this baby growing in my belly was just a prayer in my heart...  

Going from this...

to this...

 is an { indescribable } feeling.  

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've prayed over the years that the Lord would allow me to have a family with this man...      the love of my life :) 

p.s. (don't judge... I had been crying lots of happy tears and definitely had the FLU... 

wouldn't be a traditional Weeks' girl pregnancy without it, right??)

Nolan and I had prayed for and hoped to conceive for exactly one year when the Lord chose to bless us with the gift of pregnancy.  Our season of waiting seems minuscule when I think about women I've known who have waited for years upon years, or who are still waiting, hoping and praying for a child.  I am so humbled that the Lord would entrust me with such a high calling and important task as being a mother.   

I've realized a big portion of our lives involves waiting...  even now, I am waiting... waiting for my next ultrasound... waiting to see, boy or girl?... waiting for October... waiting.  However, in seasons of waiting, the Lord wants to mold us and prepare our hearts for His plan. 

If I've learned anything about waiting, it's the following:

* Regardless of the duration- whether its 3 months or 3 years- waiting is waiting, and it often requires a great amount of faith on our part.

* Many times, we are waiting because the Lord wants to stretch us, grow us, and teach us to place our hope in Him.  It's so easy to rely on our own strength and to believe that our plan is best.  God often uses seasons of waiting to teach us that apart from Him, we can do nothing, and only by His grace and through His power, can we live out His plan for our lives.      

* Waiting becomes a much lighter load when we surrender our desires and our plans to Christ and trust in His plan rather than our own.  Saying "I trust Him" and living like I do are two totally different things.  

So, as we wait, may Psalm 33:20-22 be our prayer:
           "We wait in hope for the Lord;
           He is our help and our shield.
           In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.
           May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
           even as we put our hope in You."

Lord, help us to count our seasons of waiting as some of our richest blessings.  How we love you and praise your wonderful name!