grace showing up

I have such small faith sometimes. I often assume the worst will happen, but God proves me wrong over and over.

Brett flew out to New York City Monday and returned very late last night. I am not a fan of him being out of town, especially now that we have Stella, but it is for his job and that is certainly important. The days can be so long, and when I can't count on his being there around the dinner hour to help out, it's really tough. But God watched out for me. Monday I got to hang out at my parents' house and my mom played with Stella and made me dinner. I even played the piano for the first time in months (ok, maybe years) at my parents' house, and it made me feel happy. I played music from The Sound of Music as well as some classical pieces from a book I had practiced from as a child. Right before leaving my parents' house to drive back to my place, Stella started crying really hard for no apparent reason. I was so worried she would scream the whole way home and then be difficult to put down for bed. She only cried on and off and she didn't make a single peep when I laid her down in her crib. She then slept 12 hours.

Tuesday I woke up sick. I was dreading the day ahead of me. But grace showed up. God gave me what I needed. I prayed rather half-heartedly (with barely any shred of belief that he would answer this prayer for such an insignificant request) that Stella would take a long nap for me. She slept for nearly two hours when she usually naps for only 45 minutes! I was even able to snooze a little while she napped. Then my mom visited in the afternoon and played with Stella, and then my sister came over after work and put Stella to bed for me! What a gem! Grace showed up in the form of an energetic sister who was happy to help me. It was wonderful.

Wednesday I was feeling even worse, but I was able to nap at my parents' house while Stella napped in the crib there. While it took me an hour to put Stella down last night, she slept straight through the night. Brett didn't get back until 11:15 last night, and I woke up every hour to blow my nose or drink water because my throat hurt. I am already tempted to fear what this day holds for me as a sick mom taking care of a needy baby. I am praying for strength to believe that God's grace is sufficient for me. He will watch out for me.

How has grace shown up for you lately? Are you amazed sometimes at how God comes through for you when you least expect it or don't trust that he will at all?

In closing, I will share a cute new thing Stella has been doing to self-soothe: she sucks on the second and third fingers on her right hand and rests her left hand on top of her right hand. She does this as soon as I lay her down in the crib. This is even more adorable to me because my cousin, Bethany, did this as a baby, too. :)