seek. follow. love.

Today, I got to go to my friend Kelly’s baby shower to celebrate with her, and all her family and friends, the expected arrival of “Peanut.”  Chad and I met Kelly and her husband Frank a few years ago and we served together in our satellite church.

Since then, we’ve built an even stronger friendship, blogging together, celebrating birthdays and holidays, sharing books and stories and struggles, and coming up with a monthly French Movie Night tradition where the four of us eat dinner together and then watch a French movie.

For just about as long as we’ve been friends (which is about three years or so), Kelly and Frank have been trying to have a baby. It was a long journey for them, filled with prayers and tests and disappointments. So many of us were praying for them. And a miscarriage last summer was a hard blow for them. But then…

I remember the night Kelly and Frank told us they were pregnant (I think it was probably our first French Movie Night), I was so excited for them. That night, after they went home, I said to Chad, I’m going to pray for this baby more than I ever have for any other baby. 

Because this baby has been long awaited. Long have its parents wished for it and prayed for it and loved it. Long has God loved it. Long have all of us who share our lives with Kelly and Frank loved it and prayed for it. This baby is going to be so loved and cared for and prayed over. So today we showered the baby and Kelly with gifts, so she could get ready for Peanut’s arrival.

I’m a minimalist at heart, and I try not to be materialistic at all, so I struggle with bridal showers and baby showers because I don’t want to focus on the stuff of life. And some people get caught up in the gifts and the expenses and the stuff. But this is not Kelly and Frank. They are not materialistic people and this shower was not about the gifts. I mean, there were gifts, and quite a few of them, but I was reminded today that showers in themselves aren’t about the gifts. They are about the relationships. They are about the people in your life saying, I’m here for you, I’m standing alongside you in this, and I’m here to help. I want you to have what you need, both the things you need and the support you need. 

Kelly was surrounded by so many women today who love this baby already, and who love her and Frank and are offering their support and love. There were gifts, but more than that, there were relationships in that room– sisters, aunts, moms, friends.

So Kelly and Frank and Peanut, we’re here for you. We’re standing alongside you in this and we’re here to help. We’re here to celebrate and struggle and laugh and cry with you through everything that comes. We can’t wait to meet this baby and watch you be amazing parents. We can’t wait to see what joy Peanut brings to you and what love you offer to this new little one. We are praying and loving and listening and supporting you every step of the way. We’ve all waited for this baby for you. And we can’t wait to see all three of you together.