An SJ Update and a Random Thought

One week from today, my brand new baby will be one month old!  I can't believe how quickly this time is passing.  As babies tend to do, SJ is growing like a weed.  Yesterday I decided to try one of her one-size diapers, and it fit!  This is exciting, because the OS pocket diapers are much easier to use than the prefolds and covers I had been using, but it also means she's getting so big already!  She's already starting to outgrow some of her newborn sized clothes.  I went and cleaned up her dresser drawers last night and already have a small stack of outfits that are too small.

I've also figured out that I cannot eat broccoli in any amount.  Two weeks ago I had Chinese food for dinner.  My favorite is chicken with broccoli.  The next day, SJ was fussier than she's ever been.  She screamed and cried all day.  I thought maybe the broccoli was the culprit, since broccoli does tend to cause gas and upset tummies in little ones.  A few nights ago, we had a chicken casserole that had cream of broccoli soup as the binder in it.  How much broccoli is in a can of condensed soup??  I didn't think it could be much, and I only had a small scoop of the casserole, but SJ was again miserable the next day.  It could be coincidence, but she's generally such a happy baby that I think I'll just be avoiding the broccoli from now on.  Sad though, because broccoli is one of my favorites!

And I just wanted to write this somewhere, so here seemed like a good place.  It has absolutely nothing to do with SJ, but it's just been on my mind re: things we say to people who are grieving or otherwise struggling with life.  "Everything happens for a reason."  I've heard it many times and I've said it myself.  But really, does everything happen for a reason?  I believe in the sovereignty of God, and I believe that sometimes He does put struggles in our lives to strengthen us and bring us closer to Him.   That thought most likely wouldn't encourage faith in God in the heart of someone who doesn't already have any, though.  The Bible doesn't say that everything happens for a reason.  It does say that God works all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28; emphasis mine).  That means that God can take a truly terrible situation and turn it into something positive, but it doesn't mean that God willed the terrible thing to happen.  He may have allowed it, and He will work it out for His glory and our good, but that doesn't mean that there was a reason it happened.  I guess when we say that everything happens for a reason, we mean something to the effect of "God will work it out," but if we're speaking to someone who has no faith in God, it's not even a true statement.