Love + A Big Piece of Chocolate Cake

Back in the day when all photos were taken in sepia & station wagons with faux wood panel siding decorated the neighborhoods... Back in the day when seat belts were not required & no one cared that the kids were climbing over one another in the back of the cars traveling down the road... Back in the day when the husbands went off to work and the wives stayed home wearing adorable dresses & pearl necklaces... Back in the day when televisions came in only black and white & having a TV was seen as a bit of an extravagance... Back in that day, a young couple lived & served together as pastors at a small Church of God in Lapaz, Indiana...


A Sunday night service started off the revival with nightly gatherings which would conclude on Friday evening. There was no budget for a hotel room or restaurant meals for visiting preachers. The speaker was hosted in the little parsonage where the pastor, wife & first daughter lived. Meals were prepared by the lovely pastor's wife -- in her adorable dress & pearl necklace -- who just happened to be, in Biblical terms, "great with child" :)

As the story goes, somewhere during the Tuesday evening service, said woman great with child was attempting to ignore irregular contractions. The service concluded & a young couple from the church brought a huge chocolate cake over to the parsonage to share with the pastor's family & the evangelist. Everyone enjoyed a big piece of chocolate cake, a glass of milk and then called it an evening :) In the middle of that night, the contractions became more regular & stronger and, it was decided that the 45-minute drive to the closest hospital in South Bend should be started. 

And, as the story goes, the woman great with child had been warned that she would be sent back home if this was a false alarm. This was her 3rd pregnancy. The first went full term with no complications but resulted in a beautiful blond girl - stillborn. The second had resulted in another blond girl who was now a little over 2 years old. But, she was nervous about this delivery. She didn't want to be sent home. She didn't want to get to the hospital too late. So, the young pastor was told to "Hurry up! Hurry up!" when the contractions came & told to "Drive Slower! Drive Slower!" when the contractions subsided.

Early that Wednesday morning another little blond girl was born... healthy, fiesty & ready to take her place in this family of love. Love + A Big Piece of Chocolate Cake = ME!

And, that's how the story goes.  

Linked with the Nesting Place community through the write31days challenge, October 2014 - post No 10.