Obedience Is...

The very best way to show that you belieeeeeeeve!

Okay so maybe you never sang that song in Sunday School but I did. Obedience is also the very best way to allow God to bless your life.
REWIND
March 2012 - I was going through my closet and came across, once again, my wedding dress from my JOP wedding in HI (as opposed to the ceremony we'd planned all along that had taken place at home). My gorgeous wedding dress that has sat in a closet in a bag for 4 years and isn't even THE dress, it was just the last minute dress for the last minute wedding. No, I wasn't pregnant, I had gotten orders to PCS. Our wedding would have been our last time together for our first year (or more) of marriage. But I'm a sentimental sap so even though it wasn't THE dress, it was still my JOP wedding dress so I still had it. God laid it on my heart to give it to someone who needed it. I felt so, so strongly that I needed to bless someone with that dress. It was prom season so I assumed it would be easy. It wasn't. And I figured it better to hold on to it than to donate it to one of the local "charitable" events since too many of these women are later found to be selling their free dress. I wanted someone to use it to feel beautiful on a special day because, well I might be biased but... the dress is beautiful. Satin sheath with crystal details. Beautiful and flattering.
FAST FORWARDDDDD.... errrrrrrrr.... STOP!
July 2012 - I bought plane tickets to take my baby home for the first time. I toyed with the idea of having a trash-the-dress shoot with my JOP wedding dress but I never packed the dress to go home with me. Oops.
FAST FORWARD... eeerrrrr... STOP!
September 2012 - My kid hasn't gained weight in months. She's even started to lose weight. This is pertinent to the story, just follow me here. Round One of blood work happens after vacation. 
FAST FORWARD... eeerrrrrrr... STOP!
Two days ago - A local fiancee put out the request for a pretty white dress to wear on her own JOP wedding day (today). They were putting together a last minute ceremony for whatever reason necessary. *PING! PING! PING!* went my heart strings but I ignored them for a few hours. Finally around 8 pm, I responded to her, after so many other women, and offered my wedding dress. I emailed her a picture since she already had so many to choose from. None of those were wedding dresses, though. She loved mine but assumed I wanted cash for it and decided she couldn't afford it. Silly girl, it was free. So she asked if she could try it on so before I could change my mind, I forced L to head to her house and drop of the dress. Drop of MY dress with a perfectly good STRANGER. I bawled my eyes out but still felt at peace with it. I did the right thing. I mean, that's not even THE dress that's super special to me anyway, I'm just a sentimental sap. I still have my first A+ test from kindergarten. Yep, packrat.
FAST FORWARD... errr... STOP!
Yesterday - I get a nerve-inducing phone call from the doctor... on her off day. The news isn't bad yet, and it probably won't be, but K had to go for blood work Round Two ASAP. Levels were off and more testing was necessary.
FAST FORWARD (last time) STOP!
Today - God knew in May that I would need a pick me up today. On Tuesday, God perfectly timed the pick-me-up, as long as I obeyed. The blood work was awful. Better than Round One in the sense that we saw a pediatric nurse and the pediatric nurse absolutely refused to stick K until she was sure she'd get the vein. Better in the sense that the nurse didn't bruise my baby. Worse in the sense that it took almost 2 hours to get the vein to pop up above the nerves and tendons in K's arm that it was hiding under. Worse in the sense that when the nurse stuck K the first two times, K flexed and used her muscles to push the needle right back out of her arm (what can I say? My kid is tough! I can't lie, I'm just a teensy bit proud of her for that). Worse that no amount of singing her favorite song could calm her enough to let her face turn back to a normal color. Worse because I was actually in the room this time and my baby kept looking at me asking with her eyes why I was letting those people do that to her. Worse because she kept reaching for me and I kept holding her hand and letting it happen. Okay... enough of that. I'm far more traumatized than she was.
This afternoon - We came home from errands. I'd completely forgotten that today was the "big day" for my perfect-stranger-turned-friend. I got a message from her with a picture of her in my dress standing next to her new husband, beaming and absolutely gorgeous. I got a huge thank you and she had gotten tons of compliments. I listened to God and was able to help make her big day special and memorable. I was able to help her feel beautiful. I was able to be blessed on a day that God knew I would need it.
Because I listened to God.
And I don't feel like crying over my "missing" dress any more.