She's Here.

My precious friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday. She and I went for a walk on Saturday all through Target, hoping that labor would start. Sure enough, her water broke Saturday night and her sweet little girl was born early Sunday morning. I went to the hospital early in the morning and saw her before I had to rush to church for band practice. It's crazy how much I already love this precious bundle of joy. And seeing my friend step into the new world of motherhood is a very amazing thing. When I stood in the hospital room, a flood of memories rushed back and I remembered what it was like, being there with my newborn, having droves of people come to our room, and me not feeling so sure about it. I was so excited, but I was nervous, too. My friend, however, has been wonderfully calm and I'm so proud of her.

Every morning before the worship team goes onstage, we stand backstage to join hands and pray. Inevitably, there is a collective sigh as the prayer begins, as everyone releases their nerves or thoughts before beginning the morning. Even though some of us go out there almost every week, there is still always the need to re-focus and prepare our hearts before we lead others to engage in worship. Quiet preparation. Even though we rehearse the songs and know our instruments, it is completely through faith and through God giving us the opportunity that we are able to step out there and worship Him.

I thought about my friend yesterday morning during our prayer. She's read the books, asked the questions, taken the classes. And now it's time to take the deep breath and simply step into her new role with renewed purpose and trust. The name of God that I think of is El Roi, the God who sees. He is watching over her and her husband and their new sweet baby. My prayer is that they will take comfort in His watchful eye, knowing that everything--the sweet moments, the late nights, the coos, the diapers, the figuring out the car seat, the quiet rocking in the nursery--everything is in His sight. He is very, very near and will be there, every step of the way.

Those are the thoughts that are on my mind tonight. I'm so happy for my friend.

Have a lovely day.