Baby Bedding

Many of you may know already how expensive it is to purchase crib bedding sets. I was shocked when I saw it costs nearly $200 for such a small amount of fabric when you can buy an entire “bed in a box” for a queen or king sized bed for under $100! I guess we have to pay extra for cuteness eh? *wink*

Well, my darling Melissa and I had picked out our bedding for the room. It’s a set called “Go Car Go” which has the most adorable picture of a car as you see below.

The whole bedroom set

At Melissa’s first baby shower, her mom, Theresa, had a special cake made with the same “Beep Beep Car” on it…

Beep Beep Cake

Some wonderful family members had offered to purchase it for us but at the time of the baby shower, the item was sold out from Target.comwhere we have our registry. So, in an effort to still get the set that Melissa had her heart set on, I did some research and found a seller on eBay who had 5 sets available for sale. The family members purchased the  bed set and we figured we’d get it in a couple weeks. Well, 2 and a half weeks passed and no bedding set. On Friday, my mother-in-law gets an email from the seller saying that “eBay didn’t notify us of the sale until today and we’ve already sold out of this item, it is back-ordered until Nov 30th.” Now first of all, eBay doesn’t “forget” to notify a seller. I’ve been selling on eBay for 8 years and never once have they not notified me of a sale. The problem is that they either missed the email or someone dropped the ball.

Well, suffice to say that did not sit well with either of us. Melissa especially had a hard time with it because, bless her heart, she wants to have the room ready for the baby. I don’t blame her. Walking into the “nursery” right now is kind of discouraging because it is just an empty room with a stroller, car seat, and some random baby gifts on the floor – oh and a bookshelf in the corner. Every single item that we’ve ordered for the equipping of the baby’s room has had some kind of delay or problem. This was like the “straw that broke the camel’s back” as Melissa explained. We both have a need to feel like we are ready to receive Caleb into this world and call it whatever you like, but to us, it means a lot to have that room ready. I could dive into all the other “issues” we’ve had with delays in shipments and orders not being placed etc, but suffice to say, Thursday was very discouraging.

But, as with all the storms in life – there is always something to be grateful for and that is what we have to keep our eyes on. In the story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, was Jesus concerned or worried? I mean, good grief, when the storm was raging around them, Jesus was sound asleep in the boat without a care in the world. His disciples woke him saying “Master, we are going to drown! DO SOMETHING!” (heavily paraphrased). Jesus scolded them for their lack of faith and spoke three words to the storm “Peace! Be Still!”. And all was quiet.  Stop, wait a second… Why did Jesus say they lacked faith? If you and I were on a rickety boat in the middle of a huge storm, wouldn’t we have the same fear? Of course! But isn’t that what we are all in at many different times in our lives? Big or small, the storms of life can rock our world, our faith, and our emotions. And yet, Jesus says to us, “Oh you of little faith!” Why? Because Jesus is always with us, he promises to never leave or forsake us! Read Romans 8 today.  No matter what - Jesus is always with us and will always – ALWAYS love us. I wrote a song many years ago which was inspired by a plaque I saw even that many more years before that. The chorus goes, “Sometimes he calms the storm, and other times, he calms his child…” We can’t always believe that God will calm every storm in our lives. If he did, we’d never learn anything. It’s through the trials and tribulations of life that he refines us with his refining fire. More often than not, he will calm his children and walk with them through the storm. But he says “fear not! For I am always with you, even until the end of the age!”

So no matter how big or small your storm – remember to take courage and faith that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. When we trust in him, there is no fear, no doubt, and no worry. I know I sure could use less worry in my life! I need to surrender myself to him more each day, learning to trust and to lean every bit on him. I’m in the same “boat” with everyone else. Even though this was a small storm, we still need to turn to Him in everything. Because he will either calm the storm or he will calm us… his children.