we sat in our living room on sunday, with piles of stuff everywhere and the garbage cans full of paper and shannon and i looked at each other and agreed, "we are loved."saturday, the church threw a surprise baby shower for shannon, in which she was genuinely surprised (this is a major feet - she is almost never surprised). my mom and sisters came all the way from pittsburgh to attend. i knew about it for a long time, but once it was over, i just couldn't believe how much the church 'showered' us with gifts - a double stroller, books, gift certificates, clothes, toys, a pedicure for shannon, and stuff for jack, who will soon be a big brother (oddly enough, the father was the only member of the family completely left out of this ritual of gift-giving - what is that about?).
in all honesty, shannon and i have been in a kind of shock since the shower on saturday. she was literally shocked ("i'm sweating buckets here," she allegedly said during the festivities), but both of us are still pretty much stunned by the generosity and love shown to us by our church family.
i mean, let's be frank: we've only been here about nine months, and you could understand if the church people were still trying to get to know us, trying to heal from the loss of their previous pastors, and hoping not to get hurt by yet another pastoral appointment somewhere down the road. and yet, that hasn't been our experience at all. we have felt so welcomed here - so at home. we feel loved and cared for. the hospitality and generosity that we have received has been awesome. this shower just seems to represent for us nine months of love and acceptance. and so we sit in our home in an embarrassment of riches. we have stuff. we have community. we have a growing family. we just look at each other and shake our heads and keep saying
we are blessed.
thank you.
Comments
lets not forget about the belated birthday present you got from yours truly :)
the weekend was delightful for us as well. i got a great picture of shannon's surprised face that i'll have to send you! :)
yes, i did get a belated birthday present, which was very nice, and which i will enjoy. but that's a little different. i was specifically referring to the 'showering' of gifts related to the birth of our little fetus.
ah yes...pictures. when you get around to it, post some on snapfish so that we can get some, since we don't have any pics of the day.
thanks alot julie. robbing a man of his only baby shower gift. i would wipe my tears, but mary insisted that i point at you.
greg.
i am so happy today because the blue sky is contrasting with the newly-green grass and it is so refreshing. i am totally ready for spring! i'm sure you are for many reasons... new babies, for one.
seth and i are going to see blades of glory tomorrow night. wanna go with? we might as well come out for the third weekend in a row. shannon won't mind, right? :)
thanks for those kind words. we always want to be a blessing, but we are just amazed at how much this church has welcomed us in what feels like such a short time. how could they even really know us yet? and yet they clearly love us. it is awesome and humbling. and energizing!
greg.
come on out! the guest room is more and more a nursery, but you can sleep in the cradle and seth in the crib.
greg.