A Mother's Womb

How wonderful this week has been! Yesterday we got another glimpse at our third precious baby. Since I have Lupus, which makes pregnancy more risky especially in the third trimester, I was able to easily persuade my OB/GYN for a sonogram peek during this final stretch. Though it wasn't medically necessary, he agreed just for my peace of mind, and I was thrilled! 

Dave, Mom, Caleb, Hadley, and I crowded into the small room in anticipation of seeing how much Baby Boy had grown. The technician took her time carefully looking at the baby's organs and taking measurements from a variety of angles as we watched on trying to make out any features we could as they appeared on the black and white screen. Every step of the way she reassured us that each thing she checked looked good. Then, as we finished up, she announced that Baby Boy was measuring eleven days bigger than expected and predicted that he is already a whopping four pounds seven ounces!

While he wasn't super cooperative at letting the technician get a good shot of his face, at one point during the process I did get a pretty clear view of his sweet features - round cheeks, tiny nose, and little eyes. To my amazement, Caleb even yelled out that he too saw the nose. 

Even if they weren't the most optimal shots, thankfully we did come home with a few souvenir photos to save for his baby book and share with friends and family. While it may be hard to make out the details from the blurred images below, any pictures we can get at this point are treasured!

Hand

Eye

Though we may not be able to distinguish all his physical attributes with a clear view yet, there is One who can and knows this child intimately already. I love the following Scriptures and what they speak about God's relationship with unborn children: 

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. - Psalm 139:15-16

Shortly after reflecting on the verses above and thinking about how wonderful ultrasound technology is to give us a glimpse of what the Father is doing in the womb, I looked back at an entry in my pregnancy devotional that I'd read previously and was blown away by the author's agreement with my own thoughts. Though we may get to peek for a moment in time at our growing baby before he is born, God sees the whole process.

Catherine Larson's insights took this mediation of mine a little farther though, emphasizing the detail of each part of my child's creation that God has been a part of as He formed our baby boy. How humbling yet reassuring it was to read: "As Creator, Father, and Sustainer, He has a love and a claim over your child greater than your own." As connected to my children as I feel and head-over-heels in love with each of them I am, my heart cannot contain the type of love and tender relationship the Father has - a relationship that began in His thoughts before creation and will continue into eternity. I am breathless and in awe...

Larson says it so beautifully, "This child will be cradled in your arms soon, but for now he or she knows the intimacy of just one constant gaze of love: that of our heavenly Father."