Hard to believe my last blog post was 8 months ago.

The culprit? A tiny human with 2 teeth and a serious milk habit. His happy eyes and easy smile are downright disarming. And, his giggles? Like sunshine for your soul.

My last post was just weeks shy of Josiah’s birth. To say that life has been extra full and moving at warp speed since then is, well, a major understatement.

Are we exhausted most days, leaning hard on Visine® (and, sometimes, the wall)? Uh-huh.

Has everything–and I do mean, literally everything–in our lives shifted because of our newest plus-one? Yep.

But has our gratitude also grown exponentially in the process? Without a doubt.

How can that be, when we’re weary on the regular?

See, Josiah is a profound gift. His mere presence is nothing short of a miracle. The reasons he technically shouldn’t be here are countless.

Want a sampling?

My age. Remember my “Hey, I’m pregnant!” post? It noted a less than 1% chance of natural conception after age 44. I was well past that age, so mine was a “geriatric pregnancy.” And, the odds were stacked high against us for a healthy mom and baby.

Last-trimester worries. The first two trimesters were pretty smooth. Sure, I had nausea all day. Extra testing and monitoring. Even some pains. But everything panned out just fine. The real challenge came in the final weeks when my amniotic fluid level suddenly increased for no apparent reason. It meant almost daily monitoring to be sure baby was fine–and moving up my due date twice for our safety.

Josiah’s landing. We reported before sunrise for a scheduled C-section. But, if baby was head-down, I could opt to be induced and push instead. He was, so I did.  And 14 hours later, Josiah made his grand entrance.  

With the cord wrapped around his neck.

I never saw it. Exhausted, I laid back and closed my eyes to catch my breath. But my concerned hubby saw it all, including how quickly the doc unwrapped that cord quickly, quietly and efficiently. He told me about it waaay later, once some time passed from the scariness of that moment.

For these reasons and many more, we don’t assume Josiah is here by chance. Rather, just like our older children (and all of us), we’re certain he has a God-given purpose to discover as he stretches and grows.

So, yeah, the tempo of our lives has changed again. The pace often feels non-stop with a new baby, being present for our older kids, supporting elders we love, careers, community service, and more. We know this life of continuous toggling will be our norm for many more years. And while we also know this pace won’t last forever, right now we’re tuckered out.

Yet even in our weariness, we’re also deeply grateful to God for so many blessings. We don’t take any of it for granted. Like feeling wet kisses on our faces, planted by a healthy baby. Watching our 3 children mature, their love as siblings firmly rooted. Hearing them laugh with doting grandparents.

And, knowing that–as long as you’re not tapping yourself out completely–some things are worth the weariness.

Your Turn: What keeps your life busy, but also blessed?