Surprise Gifts

I always misspell the word surprise.  I write suprise instead.  It actually is surprising that I can't spell it correctly because 1) I love surprises, and 2) I was runner up in my 2nd grade spelling bee.  But then again, I've been told I have a wee bit of a Boston accent, and so I must want to write it how I say it.

OK, so this thought keeps going through my head about how babies are gifts.  I mean, they really are blessings from God:  

Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth. 

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

And we shouldn't take gifts for granted.  Just because it's my birthday (it's not) I don't expect a gift from anyone, but I'm most definitely happy to receive one.  Even if every single year on my birthday my friend has given me a gift, I still shouldn't expect it.  It's a present, a surprise, not a payment of a debt owed to me.  

A few months ago, I was blog hopping, and can't remember exactly where I saw it, but I read a comment about how crazy it is that married couples who are happily married and having sex without using contraception can still be surprised when they find out they are pregnant.  

I completely disagree.

It's not crazy at all.

We have been surprised with 4 out of 5 of our children.  The one that wasn't a complete "surprise" was Eamon, whom we tried to conceive, were told by the doctor that I wasn't pregnant, and then found out a couple weeks later that I was indeed pregnant, but the blood test had been taken too early to tell.  So even though his conception was "planned" there was still an element of surprise involved with how we found out.  

Say what???

There have been months in our marriage that we have tried to get pregnant and it didn't happen, even though all signs pointed to what should have been a success.  There have also been times when we found out a baby was coming, and couldn't have been more shocked (hellooooo, Maggie!).  

So how can we be surprised when the marital act leads to a baby?  Isn't it like the old song says...First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes an openness to new life with one's spouse (they dropped this  line in the refrain because it didn't rhyme), then comes a baby in the baby carriage?  

Nope.

Precisely because children are blessings, they can never be expected or demanded from God.  They are always a gift, and therefore they are always a surprise.  I don't care how long or hard a couple tries to get pregnant, once everything lines up right and that new baby is conceived, it's still a miracle.  Still a surprise.  Don't we all get that exciting thrill of the unexpected when we hear a baby announcement?

OMG!  She's married and loves her husband, but she's having a baby?!?!?!

Every day I get in my car and drive, knowing that the only way to get into a car accident is to actually be in a car.  But I don't get in a car accident every day.  Getting in an accident would be an unusual event.  I don't want to relate getting pregnant to getting in an accident, but it's good to show that just because you know what might cause something, and you do it anyway, doesn't mean that it will definitely happen.  Especially if you are driving carefully, and watching the signs, and it seems like green lights all the way.

The surprise gifts are never-ending in our house. So thoughtful.

This post is not an announcement.  But it's so funny that every time my current baby turns two, I really want another little one if I don't have one already.  Xander will be two in a couple weeks, and I keep asking Phil to remind me of all the reasons we are waiting, then trying to convince him otherwise.  I guess what I'm saying is that you all shouldn't be surprised if and when we get surprised with a gift of another Baby Martin anytime soon. 

  :)