When in Doubt: Doughnut
We’ve got two major things going on in the Ladd house right now:
1. We’re growing a baby. (12 weeks!!! I have an extremely awkward pooch!)
2. We’re prayerfully expecting my South African legal status to be cleared in the hands of our very capable lawyer. (If you’ve not heard of the legendary lawyering of Craig Smith or kept up with the visa saga, sign up here for our Friday Five. The handsome Chris Ladd delivers our family’s weekly top 5 in a way that always entertains.)
These two things work together because I need South African legal status when the baby comes so we can register the birth. We have to apply for a visa for newest little Ladd immediately after birth. Craig Smith thinks the urgency and emergency of it all is amazing for the case. Peace and joy are admittedly not my first reflexes when I hear words like “urgency” and “emergency” regarding my family.
People have asked us about gender reveal parties, baby names, birthing options… We’re over here talking about how to keep of our family in the same country. Capacity is limited, y’all. When I think about the truth, I think: God put our family together, and He won’t rip it apart. We were called to South Africa to start a life-giving church, and we will fulfill the calling. And I breathe. And I lean back into my Father’s arms.
It’s the other 56 minutes of every hour that get me. The heaviness weighs on my subconscious (and apparently makes me a little irritable). Yesterday, when my subconscious became my own quicksand, I needed to stand up and do something. There’s not much I can do on my own in the legal system. And I don’t want to plan a gender reveal party. So I went to Dunkin’ Donuts.
A darling young woman named Nelcisiwe chose a dozen sugary beauties, and I marched that treasure box into my lawyer’s office just to bring smiles. Craig wasn’t even there, but I spent half an hour at the front desk swapping stories with the receptionist.
We talked about her children, her fears for them, and the seemingly impossible tension of both providing and protecting for your family in a city like Cape Town. We shared story after story about our 10-year old sons, and her eyes watered as she said she always wished she could adopt and help someone else. She asked what was going on with our case. I confessed that I felt a significant amount of stress about the baby coming. She shouted about not stressing for the baby and began scribbling furiously on Post-its. She asked me to include her in every email I send my lawyer and assured me she would champion our family before him. Her life is so very difficult, yet she lavished extravagant comfort and care over me.
I left feeling lighter than I have in a long time. I felt so blessed, loved and guarded by my Maker. And I think she did too. She felt heard, cared for and seen. And she got first dibs on the doughnuts!
It cost me about $10 in doughnuts and parking yesterday to step out of my own quicksand. The doughnuts were a great reason to show up, but it was the story swapping that made an impact. I truly believe a great door of favor opened up as we brought our stories.
I’ve been thinking a lot about story swapping since then. Jesus came, died and rose again to swap His story with mine – to crucify my reason to fear. Sometimes I just need to step out of my own present-day reality to remember that.
Jesus changed everything for me. What if I could change something small for someone every day? A smile, a doughnut, a story – we have unlimited ways to make an impact in this world. Let’s do something today.