I'll Take a Side Order of Abnormal, Please!

For those of you who have read J's story here, I want to clarify something. I do not want people to feel sorry for us that we experienced her birth in such a way. I don't want sympathy that I didn't get to be a "normal" Mom.
There are so many things that I would have missed out on if she had been a full-term, 7.5 pound, 21 inches long baby girl.

• If I had carried her in my womb, I would not have gotten to watch the miracle of God's design take shape in front of my very eyes.
• If I she had waited and I had gotten to hold her right away (instead of having to wait 6 1/2 weeks), I would have missed the priviledge of holding her for hours at a time before most Moms even get to see their babies.
• I would have missed the delight of meeting the people who have dedicated their lives to extending the limits of birth instead of cutting it short. (Some abortions still take place when our daughter was born!)*This was true when I originally wrote it, but I don't know if it still is.
• I would not have the level of comfort with leaving her in the care of others that I do now, if I had not gotten so much practice in the beginning.
• Every mother experiences God's Grace upon the birth of her children, but (and I hope this doesn't sound cocky) I believe that I am aware of a deeper measure of that Grace because her circumstance was completely out of our control and beyond our ability to "cope".
• I got a chance to heal and recoop before I brought the newborn home.
• And don't be jealous, but she was practically sleeping through the night the day she came home (the monitors and breast pump weren't, but that's beside the point)!
• I can think of others, but the biggest is that I would not have the confidence to raise her with the knowledge that God must surely have a purpose for her in mind since he went to such great lengths to make sure she survived!

Yes, it was a difficult time, but I would not trade one second in the NICU for all the stretch marks and labor pains in the world (yes, there's a little gloating there) and the chance to experience a little of the "Abnormal" or "God's normal instead."

*Today is J's 9th birthday. She will always be smaller, and there are a few things that she struggles with, but they are all very minor compared with where she has come from! I will never be able to thank our Heavenly Father enough for supporting her every breath when there was nothing anyone else could do. He alone is the reason she is alive today and He alone deserves the praise and glory. I did send flowers to the NICU though. ;)