Laurie Hane (2 May 2012)
"Nicole - you're tired"


Nicole,
 
I read your post and my heart went out to you.  I traveled a different road than you but could relate to much of what you had to say.  Experience makes it easier for me to see the blessings of where you are at.  I KNOW that right now you don't consider it a blessing in the slightest, but I would like to encourage you that you are in a hard place but also the best place to be if you are wanting to see the Lords hand in your life.  If you are like I was, you are probably so tired that to consider a solution could be too much to handle right now.  But I will put a few things out there to be seeds of thought for when and if the Lord wishes to us them.
 
 
While my kids were growing up my husband suffered a head trauma.  On the surface, one wouldn't notice a difference, but emotionally he was changed.  I and my little family found ourselves on a road not of our making, but walk it we must.
 
The book of Revelation was the topic of the first bible study I had gone to as a teenager.  Prophesy had become a point of interest in my life, and when everything went out of kilter, that became a saving point in my sanity.  The study of the bible and the watching for the rapture gave me a focus.  I would wait for one rapture date after the other, and the hope of that would help me get through another summer, another fall, another winter.....   I went through life in segments and yet now, I wish I had been able to live more of life at the time and not be so overcome with the circumstances of daily life.  In spite of that, the Lord has become very real to me, the waiting for the rapture extremely personal, and the role of encourager a constant.  I say all of this because I sense that your looking for the rapture, might at times, be a "survival" technique as well.
 
But first and foremost- you need to give yourself some slack.  YOUR PREGNANT.  I imagine this is your first, and I had to smile at your concern over how "tired" you are.  Pregnancies are different from woman to woman, but being tired........I had to smile again............is part of the ball game!!  Welcome to womanhood.  The feeling of being alone in your concerns in life.........welcome to pregnancy.   The idea that your husband thinks your a bit wacky.......welcome to pregnancy.  Sorry, but you are a bit wacky.  Who wouldn't be with all those hormones racing around.  They are chemicals produced by the body to do a very important role, but sometimes they are impartial to the niceties of life, and they attach themselves to our emotional centers and "whalla"- wacky women.  I know this isn't what you want to hear, I certainly didn't when I was going through the raging hormones.... but it is the truth of the matter because it feels so real.  And it is, there is a definite chemical switch that is necessary for a successful pregnancy, but the other parts of your body are defenseless to them as well.  Just know that it will disappear sometimes down the road.  Try not to give a harbor to the ill feelings that develop from them for that will change also.  Even though you don't feel like it right now, encourage your husband with what a good job he is doing taking care of you, preparing for the baby and making it possible for you to stay home during this unique time.  Praise him for his ability to handle your wacky moods and shift of focus.  After all, this I assume is his first pregnancy too?  You both have to feel your way through this with as much tolerance and love as you can muster!!  Try to develop the idea that today is a good day and give up the place the past memories take, of your time.  Memories are beautiful to help encourage the present, not make the present a chore by comparison.  God has a plan, will continue to work it in your life whether you are joyous or not, so learn to have the joy.
 
I will be praying that God's grace comes in abundant supply for you and your husband.
 
Laurie