Overwhelmed by Gratitude

My husband's cousin has been separated from her husband for the past three years, since he returned to Mexico in order to apply for legal residency in the United States.  They have two young children who can't remember what it was like living with Daddy.  They've only seen him once a year (or less) when they have been able to travel to Mexico to visit him.  The family has been through great struggles due to their separation and have had repeated difficulties completing the paperwork and other requirements to get their loved one home.

Last night, our cousin's husband came home for good.  Two children have their father back and a young woman no longer has to live without her husband.  We have been praying for his return every night and we are so profoundly grateful that God has answered the prayers of so many in order to bring this family back together.

I am such a softy, I've been crying tears of happiness all morning for them.  If anyone deserves a happy ending, it is this family.  I can't imagine living for years without my husband or raising children alone, but our cousin always had a positive outlook.  She would compare herself to military wives who were separated from their husband, saying that she was much more fortunate than them because at least she knew her husband was safe (although in reality, the stability of the area of Mexico where he lived was questionable - he was mugged at least twice while living there).

We've never met her husband because he was already in Mexico by the time we moved near the family and we look forward to meeting him for the first time and getting to know him when we return to Indiana for my husband's graduation in May.

Thinking of Somalia

Have you heard of the terrible famine affecting Somalia?  My heart breaks every time I see coverage of it on the news.  The people of Somalia have already been suffering for a long time due to political unrest.  When I was student teaching, many of my students were Somali refugees.  These young people had often seen the murders of their parents, had been shot at nearly daily as they walked to school, and endured life at refugee camps where basic human necessities were scarce.  They showed profound gratitude for the opportunities the United States offered them, including their education which they took very seriously.  Many of them lived in small cramped apartments (as many as fifteen people in a one bedroom apartment) and their parents worked minimum wage agricultural or manufacturing jobs, yet their lives were much better than they were in Somalia.  Imagine that, being grateful to live in extreme poverty in the United States.  I cannot imagine the conditions they lived in before that would make them so happy to have so little. 

Although we don't have much money to donate, my husband and I have felt called to contribute to the famine relief in Somalia.  We've decided to donate to Catholic Relief Services, specifically to their Emergency Relief Fund for the East Africa Drought.  A few years ago, I became aware of the importance of donating through specifically Catholic charities due to the birth control and sterilization practices encouraged by some international relief organizations.  Catholic Relief Services is a prominent Catholic international aid organizations and does great work throughout the world.  If you feel called to help the people in Somalia or other people suffering throughout the world, I suggest you research any organization to which you are interested in donating to make sure that they operate within your morals.

The Pope has recently expressed great concern for the people of East Africa.  If you do not feel called to send financial support or are unable, remember that the most important thing you can do is pray.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 21)

1.  I had a great evening at the home of a friend last night.  We went to college together and she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the same college that my husband is now finishing at.  So maybe I was a little melodramatic when I was saying we didn't know anyone here.  My friend and her husband had the two of us and other couple over for dinner and we stayed there talking until late last night.  She has been such a good friend to me, although we don't have a lot of things in common outwardly.  She's closer to my parents age and her oldest is less than 5 years younger than me.  In fact, her husband is (one year) older than my parents.  But they are such good people and we never run out of things to talk about, age doesn't seem to be an issue.  I feel so blessed that I'll have to opportunity to see her and her family regularly over the next year.

2.  This article really made me smile: A Career Sustained by Unwavering Faith.  I love hearing about faithful Catholic in the "real" world, who are able to blend their faith and work (seemingly) effortlessly.  And I especially love it when the stories are reported by the secular media.  Plus, faith and sports seem to go so well together, don't you think?

3.  While we're on the subject of blending faith and work, I enjoyed this article: Don't Be a 2/3rds Catholic.  Although I am not currently in the workplace, from my past experience I remember how difficult it was to decide what what appropriate regarding faith in the workplace. 

4.  Last week was Natural Family Planning Awareness Week.  I had wanted to write a post about it, but never really got around to it.  A while back, I wrote about how my husband and I decided to stop using NFP to postpone pregnancy and how we aren't planning to use it after the baby's born (not unless or until we have a serious reason to postpone pregnancy in the future), but it seems that some people misinterpreted my post as meaning that I am anti-NFP.  Preposterous!  I think NFP is a wonderful gift when used for the right reasons.  Anyway, I was really hoping to write a post to clarify my position and to extoll the truly wonderful things about NFP, but alas, it wasn't to happen.  Maybe next year.

5.  For all you crafty folk out there (or wanna-be craftsters like me), here's a link for you:

6.  I suddenly love Craig's List!  I've only ever used it to sell or buy big ticket items before (couches, washer/dryer, etc), but I randomly started looking through the baby/kids section the other day and I found someone selling brand new organic prefold diapers still in the packaging...and the exact same brand that I had planned to use.  My husband drove me to her house after work (you still have to be super cautious... someone claiming to sell organic cloth diapers could really be a murderer) and I ended up saving over $30 on three dozen.  I'm sure finds like that don't happen all the time, but it made me a true Craig's List believer.

7.  Cloth diapering mamas, don't forget to enter this week's Thirsties Thursday Giveaway:

And, as always, don't forget to visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes. 

Pregnancy as a Disease

I wrote the previous post about what I love about being pregnant before I read about the new Department of Health and Human Services mandate that all insurances cover contraception and morning after pills as "preventative health services".  Apparently that post was even more needed than I thought... Or maybe I'm just a crazy uneducated woman who is writing what I love about my "disease"?  Why is contraception preventative?  What are we preventing?  Pregnancy is now a disease, something that needs to be prevented? I find this kind of ironic after seeing on the home page of the HHS website a promotion of World Breastfeeding Week.  Before birth, babies are a disease to be prevented, but their health suddenly becomes a main concern as soon as they are born?  I just can't wrap my mind around that logic.  

Perhaps Cardinal DiNardi says it best when he stated “HHS says the intent of its ‘preventive services’ mandate is to help ‘stop health problems before they start. But pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a ‘health problem’ – they are the next generation of Americans.”  I encourage you to read the rest of the USCCB press release: HHS Mandate for Contraceptive and Abortifacient Drugs Violates Conscience Rights.

Great.  As if pregnancy isn't already treated as a disease to be treated and managed [instead of the natural (beautiful?) process that it really is] by the medical community¹, now our government is jumping on board.  

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¹ For just a little taste of this pervading attitude, look at this article in USA Today about the increase in Cesarean rates in the US.  Although I don't want to go into detail about my thoughts on this (at least not right now), I want to state that I do believe that some Cesareans and other medical interventions are medically necessary to preserve the health and safety of mother and baby, but as the article states, some of the reasons for c-sections are dubious at best (convenience in delivery timing, fear of malpractice).

What I Love about Being Pregnant

For many women, pregnancy is a joyous time.  It certainly has been for me.  Yet, a large percentage of what I read in pregnancy books and online and much of what I’ve heard from pregnant women over the years are complaints about pregnancy.  Obviously, there are many uncomfortable elements of pregnancy and I too have had my own complaints.  In general, I think it’s often easier to complain (especially to join in on complaining) than to discuss the blessings in our lives.  Yet I think it is essential that if we want to promote a pro-life culture, we must portray the process of giving life in a positive light too.  So I came up with a short list of some of the things I’ve loved about being pregnant so far.

1.  I get to be intimately involved in the creation and nourishment of a life.  While praying before Mass yesterday, I was struck with an overwhelming desire to give thanks to the Lord for allowing me to be part of His creative, life-giving process.  Although many women the world over get to experience the growth of a new life within them, that doesn’t make the process any more miraculous.  If you have been pregnant or had a child before, you have probably felt something like overwhelming awe when you think about how your body is growing this little being inside of you.  It’s really hard to wrap your mind around!  I feel that my words are not adequately expressing the emotions I feel, perhaps there are other people who can explain it better? 

2.  I feel a peace with my body (and my beauty).  Much of my life, I have concentrated on how my body looks and often I fall short of the high expectations I have for myself.  During the pregnancy, I’ve started to think more about what my body can do and am continuously amazed by how it exceeds my expectations!  The body that I was constantly disappointed in has proven that it was made to be great after all.  Why did I ever care that my hips are a little too wide?  They are the hips that are going to birth my baby.  Who cares if my stomach was never as flat as I wanted them to be?  That same stomach cradles and nurtures my child.  My body is working exactly how it was made to and it has nothing to do with how it looks!

On that same note, I feel very beautiful and feminine as a pregnant woman.  Do I really look all that beautiful and feminine?  Probably not – some days I’m bloated, my skin has broken out, need I go on?  But for some reason, I still feel beautiful.  And my husband seems to think so too – I don’t think I’ve ever gotten as many compliments from him about my looks as I do now!

3.  I have to take care of myself.  Not only do I realize that it is very important that I take care of myself for the baby inside, but physically, my body seems to demand that I take care of it.  When I get sleepy (which is so often!), it seems like I can’t do anything but take a nap.  When I am hungry, I have to eat.  And I seem to be much more sensitive to what I eat – when I eat junk food, I feel terrible; when I eat fresh, home cooked meals and lots of vegetable, I feel amazing.  When I’ve been sitting around too much (read: spending too much time in front of the computer screen), I get really restless until I get off my bum and get active.  I’m probably much healthier pregnant than I was before I got pregnant!

4.  I can focus on my priorities.  This isn’t just physical – pregnancy has forced me to take care of myself mentally and spiritually as well.  Pregnancy (and the ensuing baby) is bringing so much change into my life, my home, and my relationships with my husband, my family, and my friends that it is forcing me to slow down, analyze my life, and reorder my priorities.  I feel much clearer about what is essential and what can be cut, and that has resulted in a lot of stress being lifted.  I no longer feel that I have to meet certain priorities and expectations, because if they ultimately do not serve to benefit my family, they no longer meet the standard for “priorities” or “expectations” in my life. 

5.  I love watching those around me (especially my husband) change and grow in expectation of the baby.  It is incredible watching my husband fall in love with his little son or daughter before he/she is even born.  The love between to two of us has grown as we experience the pregnancy together.  How could I not fall even more in love with my husband when I see the wonder and delight on his face when he heard our baby’s heartbeat, felt him/her kick for the first time, or when he leans down to kiss my belly?  I know that the extra expense of a child puts a lot of pressure on him as the main provider, but he never complains and has been more than happy to give up luxuries (like cable!) so that we can save money for the baby. 

It’s also been exciting to see my parents excited to become grandparents.  But even more fun is seeing my little brother (who is 19 and generally still very much into himself as teenagers often are) so excited to be an uncle!  I never imagined him giving me baby name suggestions, but he is really into being a present uncle for our little one.  Who would have known?

6. THE BABY.  Of course, there is a baby at the end of this pregnancy, and that's what makes all the discomforts of pregnancy worth it.  I don't think I need to go into details here about why the baby is a blessing and something I love about pregnancy, because it's the whole reason for the pregnancy in the first place and none of these great things about pregnancy would be possible without the little one.

I’m sure I’m missing some things here, but these are my big ones.  What have you loved about being pregnant?