The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Our Lady's Baby Bump: Day 327-336

   Watching all the babies appearing this spring, chicks at the farm stores, baby birds in the yard, and new foals at our foaling barn, is getting us very excited for the arrival of our first R4C foal! We have done everything we can think of to prepare. Our Lady is well settled into her new barn where she will foal, her tail is wrapped, and she is filling out quite nicely. Now all we have to do is wait.   .... And the waiting is the hardest part!!

    If you have ever had to wait on something after all the preparations have been made, you know how hard it is to remain patient. Like a kid before Christmas, all you can think about is those wonderfully wrapped surprises under the tree. The tree calls to you and you are drawn to it watching it as if you are on guard. Watching and waiting and wandering around the tree you wonder about all the possibilities. .... And the waiting is the hardest part!!
     You don't just wait with your mind but your physical body participates in the waiting. One of my sons used to be so excited before Christmas came that he would be physically sick in school unable to concentrate on school work while thoughts of the presents under that tree captured his attention.
      Even the Psalmist reports waiting in his whole being. "I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." Psalm 130:5-6
     Oh I wait on the Lord and while I wait I put my Hope in Him. I put my Hope in Him because sometimes the waiting is the hardest part. "Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." Psalm 130:7
     Waiting on this baby is exciting and yet physically excruciating. Its our first foal and I have no idea what to expect, other than a baby horse. But what about all the things written in the foaling books that experts say can go wrong. How will I be prepared for anything to go wrong or even everything to go right? What will I do when the baby arrives? When will it arrive?
     Not knowing when the baby will come is a great source of anxiety. The gestational term for an equine is anywhere from 320-370 days. Since our breeding was almost a week long we are looking at any where between March 21st and May 4th. Our mare is currently at 327 to 336 days along. The good news is that she is well past the critical 320 days and now all we have to do is wait knowing we have a viable foal on the way!
.... And the waiting is the hardest part!
     There are times when we know that God has prepared us for something, something big and now all we have to do is wait on Him to bring it to fruition. Sometimes its a beginning, sometimes its an ending. Sometimes while we wait on the Lord our whole bodies are aching; maybe we are waiting in our suffering or maybe we are suffering in our waiting. However if we put our Hope in Him, we need not suffer but only wait on the Lord in anticipation of his unfailing love!