relief

It rained this week...not for long, but it cooled down the evening so nicely that Natalie and Dave decided to head out and play in the puddles. The rain came Tuesday night. Wednesday brought sweet relief.
I finally took the LCSW exam on Wednesday morning...and passed! The past month has been full of studying and preparing...getting ready for the big test. For years, I've thought about having my LCSW, and I can't believe it's done. I passed. I am an LCSW. My heart pounded as I pressed the "submit" button after completing the test at the testing site on Wednesday. The baby was jumping in my belly from all of the anxiety. And then it happened...it flashed on the screen...PASS. Whew. What a relief, I tell you. Sweet, sweet relief.
I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It is the culmination of years of practicing and being supervised. It is a goal achieved. I knew that I had better take that test before this new little one entered my life, as I was sure that life with two little bits would be even busier than life with just one--and there would be no time for studying. And now it's done. The rain has passed.
I have 7 weeks left until my due date. 7 weeks of being especially pregnant in the hot july and august months. But I will cherish these weeks of praying and preparing for my son's arrival. Because I have a lot to do in 7 weeks! And I'm having a little boy! I can't believe that John Harman Sprinkle will be here so soon. Now that my test is over, I can wholeheartedly prepare for this little blessing to enter our lives.
So I thank God for the rain. And for His blessings. And for giving me the wisdom to pass the test. And I pray that I will use my LCSW to honor Him as I continue to practice social work. And I pray that He would give me wisdom to be a mommy to a sweet little boy named John.
Today I learned some very sad news about a young and beautiful mother dying of breast cancer. It stopped me in my tracks. While I am experiencing relief, she is saying goodbye to her children. So I remember that life is a short and precious gift from our amazing God. I thank Him for today. For rain and relief. For love and joy, and the blessing of children. For forgiveness and redemption. And I thank Him because I know that there is life eternal through Him.

"Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways...You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me...For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well...All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be...Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139