God's Surprise for Us

For the past few years, I have always said if God wanted to surprise us and give us a fourth child, we would happily accept.  It was just too big of a decision (for me, at least) to make on our own.  Life was good, we were happy, and the third child had been potty trained.
I thought that surprise (if it ever happened) would come in the form of an extra pink line, but that's not what happened at all! 
At some point this past winter, I started to feel unsettled.  What was up?  I started to pray about it and the reason slowly became clearer to me.
My first reaction was, "Oh, no thank you.  You have blessed us enough.  We're good.  Really.  There are so many other families who would do much better with such a blessing, such as . . . ."
But, this feeling (albeit pretty crazy) kept coming back!  So, I prayed that if the feeling wasn't from God that I would go away. 
It stayed.
And God wasn't taking any excuses.
When I told Him I had just lost weight and that I weighed less than I did in Jr. High--Jr High!--He pointed out that he had shown me how to live a more healthy lifestyle and I wouldn't forget how to do it.
When I told Him that I had been without any antidepressants for almost a year and a birth would make them necessary again, He showed me that I could once again come to live without it.
When I pointed out that we had given most everything away and turned our nursery into an office, I realized that He would provide and that none of these changes was permanent.  A baby would be just as happy in a brown room as in a white one.  My desk and scrapbook supplies could. . . move. . . out. . . of their new home.  Gulp.
When I expressed fear over the worst that could happen, He put people in my life who had gone through such tragedies and came out the other side not only alive, but much deeper in their faith.
When I told him I was too old at 32, He showed me my wonderful friends who had become new moms at 40 and after.
But, still, what a leap! 
One thing still kept nagging at me.  If we said "Yes" to this, there was no turning back. 
Then I got my final answer (not audibly, but as a thought that surely came from above).
"You will never regret a child."
After that I was sold.  But, there was someone else who needed to be on board.  I prayed for God to touch David's heart as well.
When I finally decided to ask him about his crazy feeling, he said he had been feeling the same thing!
Not long after that conversation, we found out our fourth blessing was on his or her way.  We expect his or her arrival around December 20.
Announcing a fourth pregnancy is different from even a third.  People (around here, anyway) expect you to have a third child.  But, when you already have three (including boys and a girl), it is assumed that your family is complete.
For a long time, we thought so, too.
But, we were wrong.
And we're so happy we were!