36 weeks!!

36 weeks today!!  Only ONE week until she is full-term!!!  So exciting!!  So as I ponder her birth that will be here soooo soon...

I discovered that the name Maggie means "Pearl".  I was googling information on pearls and found this description about the birth of a pearl that I thought was very beautiful:

"The birth of a pearl is truly a miraculous event. Unlike gemstones or precious metals that must be mined from the earth, pearls are grown by live oysters far below the surface of the sea. Gemstones must be cut and polished to bring out their beauty. But pearls need no such treatment to reveal their loveliness. They are born from oysters complete -- with a shimmering iridescence, lustre and soft inner glow unlike any other gem on earth." - from http://www.americanpearl.com/historyoyster.html

I also found this scripture that uses a priceless pearl to demonstrate that Jesus and His kingdom are worth giving up EVERYTHING for:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45, 46 HCSB)

And although this is not the meaning of those verses, Maggie's precious life was also worth us giving up everything we had to fight for her from the day she was conceived.  Not just hers, but EVERY baby's life from conception.  And hers will certainly be a "miraculous birth" and she will be born "complete" just as God created her and she will need "no treatment to reveal her loveliness".  She will be born "with a shimmering iridescence, lustre and soft inner glow unlike any other gem on earth."