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Hey Dad,

As I think about it, the most feared mammals on the earth are: 1) a hungry 30-foot great white shark, 2) an injured grizzly bear, 3) an angry bull elephant, and 4) a pregnant woman who is past her due date.

It's not that my pregnant wife, who is five days past her due date, has threatened to maim me if something doesn't happen soon, but I can tell she's a knot of anxiousness and emotion. (It could have something to do with the fact that we're leaving for a two-month RV trip in ten days.)

I feel my husbanding skills being tested and stretched. My manly, glass-half-full side wants to say, "Hey, God's timing is best. Let's just sit back and enjoy the ride. It'll be here when it gets here. Don't sweat it." But that kind of answer can elicit the grizzly bear reaction (if you know what I mean).

Instead of my everything's-going-to-be-all-right approach, my wife needs me to be understanding. I don't need to tell her about all the people I know who were two weeks overdue or how we should just be thankful for a healthy, normal pregnancy.

She really doesn't want me to say or solve anything. She just wants me to love her through the feelings of being overwhelmed and emotional and say, "There, there, I understand … go ahead and cry while I hold you."

Man, that's the kind of husband I want to be for my wife—not just for a few weeks before and after a baby is born, but for as long as we both shall live.

So would you pray for me as we wait for this slowpoke Wilson? My wife has mentioned before that she feels very needy of closeness with me after the baby comes. Pray that I'll be exactly what she needs … even if I don't get it.

You know, even if you're not married to a pregnant woman who is past her due date, your wife still wants (and needs) that kind of understanding from you.

I'll tell you what; I'll stop and pray right now for you, Dad. We need each other, and I appreciate your friendship.

You 'da dad,

© 2006 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

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