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“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.” Psalm 16:5

The past two months have been a whirlwind of blessings. We witnessed God’s provision before heading home for the holidays when He provided a free sonogram to discover the gender of Baby B, and He brought a spike of new patients to the office. To follow up, we are having a girl, Carmi June! And we’ve decided that if an “oops” occurred and Baby’s a boy, then that’s just the story of our lives and we’ll keep the kid either way! 

Carmi June--18 weeks

 Having the opportunity to travel home for the holidays turned out to be part of the key God used to get through to our hearts. We were overwhelmed with gratitude for the giving spirit of friends and family who provided a generous beginning for the baby we previously had all of five onesies for. We spent marvelous time with family, whether keeping to Christmas Eve tradition with hibachi, attempting beef wellingtons for the first time (turned out great!), or searching for a long lost ring in a church field with a new metal detector, it was time treasured in our hearts. We visited friends all over Louisiana and Texas, and if we were able to eat an hour lunch together or enjoy an entire day’s company, the conversations and laughter consistently reminded us that we have truly great people in our lives. 

Gender Reveal for Family

Beautiful Shower Hostesses

Sisters at Heart 

My and Hubby at the Shower

Dear Friends at the Shower

The Brothers on Christmas Eve

Beef Wellingtons and Chefs :)

 Before the trip, we each feared we wouldn't want to come back to Puerto Rico. Know for certain that not one hot shower, latte, or hug was taken for granted; nevertheless, there was a lesson in all of that goodness awaiting us when we returned. 

Living in Dallas, there were times I felt the apartment we lived in was too small. I would stress if our checking account got to a certain low number even though we were always able to save and held the knowledge that new income was, at most, only a month away. And I dreaded the possibility of pregnancy because of the two previous statements. Here, there have certainly been times when I’ve thought, “If I only knew then what I know now!” One room (period!), no predictable income, and a baby coming in May! Our lives are truly not in our control! 

When we arrived back to our 234 square feet of casita, the Lord did marvelous things to our perspectives. Being home was fantastic, but right now, this is our portion, and our lot is secure. An author, Linda Dillow, wrote about a missionary who had five rules for contentment. These Barrington’s are not there yet, but I thought these too good not to share. 

1-Never allow yourself to complain about anything—not even the weather.

2-Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

3-Never compare your lot with another’s.

4-Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

5-Never dwell on tomorrow-remember that is God’s, not ours.

Dillow also quotes J.I. Packer. He said, “Contentment is essentially a matter of accepting from God’s hand what He sends because we know that He is good and therefore it is good.”

God is good all the time. Todo el tiempo, Dios es bueno. 

Amen and Amen.