Last night I tweeted about a young man who came in to our workout center while I was walking on the treadmill. It went something like this:
"Hey, how you doin' tonight?"
"Fine, thank you"
He looks around the gym for a sec, doing that weird rubbing-hands-together-thing
"You mind if I ax you somethin' real quick?"
"Uh...sure"
I was expecting something along the lines of how far along are you, or does your doctor know you're doing this.
"Whatchu walkin fo?"
I laughed and said "Well, I'm about to have a baby, it's hard work, I've got to stay in shape."
He walks towards me, still rubbing his hands together [gag...why you gotta be a creeper?] and says "Well, to be honest wit chu, you look good just the way you is."
Before I could even say anything he said
"I mean, you just pregnant"
OOOooooh...wasn't aware...
He noticed my tattoos and that I'm married and quickly exited after that.
I just kept walking, laughing at the ridiculousness that just happened. I shook my head thinking...Why? Still laughing.
Any given day Lily and I open our living room window and see the "bad dogs" [pit bulls] being walked, a baby daddy picking up his kids, the maintenance men rushing off to fix something else, "Biggie Smalls" rolling his joints or yelling at Red Shirt Man, or the ambulance or cops picking someone else up [it's unREAL how often this happens...] It makes me infuriated with myself because I chose to live here.
I constantly think, "This is not the way I wanted to raise my kids. I want them to be able to play outside without getting a second hand high. I want them to have other baby friends in the neighbor hood that won't teach them how to hot wire a car." To be honest, I want to shelter them :\
But the past few days we've been privileged to watch these two working away outside of our window.
Lily stood at the window a few mornings ago yelling, "DUCK! DUCK!" And when I went to see what on earth she was talking about, I saw these two fighting the wind, picking up sticks and dried leaves to build a little nest.
It's so cute to see that while I'm inflating my pool, setting out outfits, putting together birth supplies [that's not weed, I promise, it's an herbal mixture for our bath, lol] and cleaning like mad, these little birds are pretty much doing the same.
I've been waiting anxiously to see what their finished product will look like, and when she'll lay her eggs. Well this morning I saw Mama Bird sitting proudly in her finished nest. And then the Lord did a tricky thing.
He said
"Now if this tiny little bird picked this tree, in this neighborhood with faith that she can lay her eggs, and prepare her babies for flight, why can't you?"
Dangit.
He's right [duh]
It's little reminders like this that assure me over and over AND OVER again that He's taking care of us. Our bellies never hunger at night, we go to bed in a big fluffy bed at a ridiculously comfy temperature, and despite our biggest fears, we are safe inside our apartment every night, despite the chaos going on outside [and when we're not, He even protects us in that]
Matthew 6:25-27
25 "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food,drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?
26 Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your Heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.
27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.
Ok, now I'm ready to have this Baby :]
Happy Wednesday Friends
Mae
