Being a Christian, and specifically an Episcopalian, is something I grew up doing. It was part of the weekly rhythm of our family…we went to church Sunday mornings, Mom had choir practice on Wednesdays, we had choristers on Thursdays, and there were various committee meetings throughout the week that both of my parents participated in. We were “involved.” With parents like these as role models, it is perhaps no surprise that my faith is important to me. And, by no means do I consider my faith something that I simply adopted out of habit - I thoroughly love the Episcopal Church and have taken great pride in being an Episcopalian. Now that I am in my mid-30s, I even sometimes volunteer the fact that my faith is important to me without concern that someone is going to judge me, or if they do, I can live with those consequences (and probably be all the better for it).

It is difficult for me to stand before you. Yes, partly because public speaking always makes me nervous. But, also because I feel so vulnerable standing here in front of you, talking about my spirituality. Some of you who know me well may realize that I often have a hard time expressing how I really feel-often using sarcasm and cynicism to prevent the conversation from becoming too serious. But today, I stand before you without reservation to explain how important today's scripture is to me and my journey.

I would like to share this afternoon what was for me the definite moment when I knew that God exists and also that God is watching.

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." Says Woody Allen. And this is the perfect quote to start with...

Today marks a turning point for me, a sort of pre-anniversary, if you will. A month from today, if the timetable I have been living with for the last 9 months is correct, I will officially become a mom. On top of that I will officially turn a year older. I am hoping that I will be able to add "and wiser" to the last half of that sentence; that I will instantly be just that, "older and wiser;" that the fears and uncertainty of taking on such an "awesome" responsibility will be realized, instantly, miraculously, divinely.