Psalm 27:14
"Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
For the past month, I have been repeating this verse over and over in my quiet time, while I am getting ready in the morning, and while I lay down to fall asleep at night. I even wrote the verse in "window" markers on our sliding mirrored wardrobe doors. It has given me such joy and hope!
Ryan and I have been waiting on God for a few months. We had plans to get pregnant at the end of spring, and we thought, since Carter came so easily, we wouldn't have any issues. Well, we quickly found that saying you are giving your plans to the Lord and actually GIVING your plans to God are not always the same. Our mouths had uttered "God willing" numerous times, but our trust was tested when our pregnancy tests came back negative a couple of times and health issues were at our door. We, and I mean mainly me, had to work through some disappointment, some anxiety and some just plain sadness in the process. God exposed sinful idols and selfishness that needed to be pruned from our hearts during the wait.
Well, this week we found out we are pregnant! We are due March 17th, one week before Carter's birthday. We are ecstatic to meet this little blessing and answer to prayer, but I am mainly in awe of the work God has done on my heart. I was able to live out the promises and truths I mentioned in my recent post, "Trusting God on the Detours." I failed miserably on some occasions, and I trusted on others. Through it all, I have clung more closely to Him and realized how my expectations can lack flexibility and how they can be plainly sinful.
Through the wait, we had bloodwork done, which revealed a hypothyroid condition I would possibly have missed for several years if I hadn't had God say, "Wait." However, regardless of whether or not I see the reason now, I trust God knows best. The sooner I lay my plans at His feet and submit to His will, the sooner the peace and strength He offers can bless me while I wait.
Psalm 28:6-7
"Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him."
9 comments:
I am SO excited for you guys, Chiara. And how fun that Baby Hawley and Baby Cox will be born so close together so their can be more cousins close in age. God is so good!
Sounds like God's overall plan has worked out well. He has grown you in areas he wanted, helped diagnose a problem, and brought about a pregnancy. Congratulations. I know the path to our plans isn't always met with joy the whole route. Glad you are seeing how good God is.
Woohoo!! Praising the Lord with you and praying for your little blessing to be healthy and strong! Paige was our very unplanned baby (she will never hear those words) and even in that time that was supposed to be such a celebration, there were times of complete sadness for me. It is tough to trust in Him NO MATTER what. God is good...all the time!
Congrats! Not only on baby #2, but on being open and willing to allow the Lord to clearly show you things that He needed to! We love you!
Oh Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulatoins Chiara! I have been praying and praying. I cannot wait to talk w/ you and see how you are feeling. I love how you write and I just feel like I'm totally connecting to you when you share so openly! "Lord, please protect this little life in Chiara as her body starts to prepare a growing environment. Keep her healthy, and energetic enough to maintain her little Carter while she's pregnant. Remind her that 'as her day is, so shall her strength be', and may she enjoy the time of having a baby from you grow inside her. This little one is truly a gift from you Father. How I praise you!!!...in Jesus Name, Amen and so be it!"
Much love friend, Kate
What a great point. There often is such a big gap between saying you are giving your plans to God and actually doing so. But there is so much to learn in waiting on God.
congratulations. that is so exciting - and a great lesson. yes, it's easier to trust god when things are going well, but a totally different challenge when they don't go as you hope. thanks for sharing!
Rejoicing with you and praying for this new little life :)
I love how you knew you needed to trust in the Lord (prov 3:5) even when it was difficult so you did whatever was necessary. It is SO very hard to wait on God and His timing sometimes but to see that you were rejoicing in His sovereign plan even before He answered with a "yes" is such an example to me.
Thanks for sharing!
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