Today is December 11, a date that has come to have special significance in our family. You see, it was on December 11, 1987 that my wife and I discovered we were pregnant with our oldest daughter, the Mall Diva. Now you might think that this was a happy day, but nothing could be further from the truth. My wife had had endometriosis and a tubal ligation in the past and wasn’t ever expecting or wanting children. To have seen the first ultrasound pictures of the Diva-to-be had been stunning to her in the same way as a sudden punch to the stomach. On top of that, when we got home that evening we discovered that my dog — the pup that had found me about a month after I started living on my own and had seen me through the first two months of my marriage — had died. A pretty emotional day all around.
No matter what we thought our life was going to be like, it was apparent that there might be another plan that we were unaware of. Fortunately we both more than recovered from the shock and were soon able to begin taking steps — physically, emotionally and especially spiritually — to prepare a path and a future for our unexpected miracle. Some 18 years later in 2005 we were making other plans for another special day, a double-ceremony at our church where my wife would be ordained and we would have a graduation ceremony in commemoration of the Mall Diva’s home-school and beauty school graduations. We consulted the family calendars and church schedule for an opportune date and settled on the second Sunday in December. It wasn’t until later the following week that I realized that we had had those ceremonies on … December 11. I thought that was kind of neat at the time, not realizing that something else had happened that day as well.
I had helped a young blogging friend of mine get a job with a guy from our church and I had invited the young man to come with his boss to this special service. Yes, that was the day that Ben, my future son-in-law, first set eyes on the Mall Diva.
I had no idea 21 years ago, or three years ago, where each day’s events were ultimately going to lead or what plans God had in mind for us. Nor do I have any idea of what He has yet planned for us. You will understand, however, if I can’t help but look forward in trust and anticipation!
