My everything

The theme for my church's women's retreat this year is "Who am I?" On the character of God and it's really got me thinking who is God to me. If you had to choose one name to encompass who God is to you, what would you choose? Deliverer, Father, Prince of Peace, Redeemer...the list goes on and on.

I have been wracking my mind the last few days and thought I had settled on one and then the next day it was another. This morning as I gave myself time with God but found myself distracted, I got a text from a friend. She was obviously prompted by the Spirit and as I listened to "though you slay me" by Shane and Shane, my heart filled and tears rushed down my cheeks.

I don't know how to receive a compliment when I get thanked for how I lived when Gracia was dying.  At the time, I didn't know what else to do but to love my Lord. He was my Breath, my Smile, my Strength, my Rock, my Comfort, my Hope, my Clarity, my Voice.

He was my Everything.

I didn't just want Him as my Redeemer or my Deliverer. I wanted ALL of Him. Every inch of Him, I thirsted for.  He was my very bread of life.

It was a very special, unique and intimate time with God.  A time that I treasure.

There isn't one facet of God that I cling to more than another. I am hungry for Him. I have tasted His goodness and I want to feast on His life giving buffet. He doesn't just have one dish in mind for you, He has a buffet. Everything you can imagine and everything you can't imagine. And He's offering it to you.  His very word and promise will sustain you.

In the quiet and the chaos, in the plagues and in the blessings, in the new day and in the darkest night...Lord, may I choose You. You are my Everything.

Heaven Minded

Losing Gracia has forced me to meditate on the eternal. I think before her death I didn't understand the gravity of eternity. Often, I day dream of Heaven. Keilah and I talk about what animals we'll play with and how we'll spend our time.

I imagine Gracia dancing and singing. I imagine her playing soccer with her Sister, Cousin and Aunt.  I imagine the wisdom and strength God has given her. I imagine the playful personality He's given her sister. I imagine both of their green eyes, just like their Daddy.  I imagine their curly hair, bright smiles and pure skin. I also think how Keilah is the big sister to all of them.  Thinking of them doesn't necessarily make me sad. It makes them very real to me. We are just separated for a while.

God has shared so much with us but He's also saved some things, the best is yet to come. Not everything has been revealed. Eternity with Jesus, God and The Holy Spirit (along with our loved ones) already sounds so marvelous I can't imagine what surprises lie ahead. What a good God we serve.

I think about all the things here on earth that bother me, that ail me. Lack of sleep, poor eating habits, not enough time in the day, making meals, meal planning, grocery shopping, budgets, replacing broken things, organizing and de-cluttering, cleaning dishes, cleaning house...the list of toil goes on and on. Even as I wash my face everyday and put on my make-up I think about how mundane it is and how one day it will end. Things will need to be re-placed because we live in a broken, fallen World.

I don't think of these things and feel dragged down and frustrated that I'm having to do them. I think of them and then my mind quickly thinks with a smile"In Heaven, I won't have to do this anymore!"

Although MAC creates some mighty fine eyeliner and gorgeous shimmer eye shadows, it will pale in comparison to how God will perfect me. I do enjoy my Picky-Palate meals but God is preparing a lavish feast for me.  I really enjoy my new home and there are some pretty upgrades but God has a mansion that will make this house look like a garbage can.

As I eagerly await my turn to go Home, I will gladly do the dishes.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" John 3:16

Meet with Me

I'm not sure where I went wrong. I don't know if one day I decided that I deserved my son because I grieved Gracia's death hard and did my duty serving God well enough that I believed that being a Mommy to a newborn would be joyous, easy and pleasant. Why did I forget how hard the sleepless nights and nursing would be? Especially on top of the normal demands of life. Why did I think balancing all of my duties would be easy. I was never promised easy. Along with all these responsibilities God also gave me the Holy Spirit. I may not always bear fruit but I know He is able, but I am weak. It's a fight of the flesh. Flesh is winning, which means that I am losing.

14 weeks have flown by. I no longer have a new born, I have a 3 month old. He rolls over, he sheepishly smiles, he watches his Daddy's every move. He doesn't nap, he has a never ending pit for a tummy, he cries when I put him down. He needs me. Which makes me need Him more than ever.

Saying that I am fatigued or sleep deprived is an under statement. Although, I don't know what I am. I am learning to function because I have to. And because I want to.

Most days I pretend that my matted hair, shirt drenched in spit up and yesterdays make-up is glamorous. This is what I have prayed for. This is what my heart has yearned for. I should be happy, right?

I have learned to whisper "Meet with me.  Meet with me, Lord. Will you meet with me?"

As I rock Simon for an afternoon nap, I start to sing. Not for him, but for me. Songs fill my heart and I forget that I need to be quiet. My soul needs to be soothed. So I sing boldly, making each word count. Making each word a plea. Show me You are good. That You are worthy. Tears start to escape my weary eyes and I look down at the child I am holding. He's asleep. And I am quieted.

God met with me.

My Beloved has Heard

Thursday January 30th, I gave birth to a beautiful healthy boy. I have a son! My soul is elated. Nearing his birth I really thought that I would spend my sleepless, nursing nights in tears. Thankful tears. But instead, I am over joyed. Every time he wakes I am excited. I can't wait to take care of my sweet son, the baby I've wanted for years.  I often find myself shouting in my head "I have a baby!" I want to show him to the world.  You know in the movie, The Lion King, when Simba is born and he is presented to the kingdom? When he is lifted up for all to see and the animals "cheer"...that's what I am tempted to do. I know it sounds ridiculous but I am so very excited for his life (and really my new life) that I want to parade him around! For now, I happily hand him over to any willing arms. I get the joy of taking care of him and raising him but I want to be in the habit of letting him go because I believe that God has placed a precious calling on his life.

For those of you that know me and know my journey, this baby of mine is a big deal. Worth celebrating, perhaps even worth parading around. I have spent the last two years pregnant, three different times. Each ending with different results. A miscarriage, a burial and now a birth.

We didn't choose the name Simon. God told us the name four times. We listened. Simon means "has heard" and we chose the name David because it's a family name and King David saved the city of Keilah (our daughters name is Keilah). David means beloved.

As I rock Simon to sleep, give him baby massages, change his diapers, I thank God. I wonder who he will grow to become and how God will use him. My heart still dances when I catch Steve playing peek-a-boo with his son or when I find Keilah gawking over her brother, that she's nicknamed Si Si. I cherish all these moments, they are forever engrained in my memory. They don't replace the other heart wrenching memories that I have. I remember those very well. But it makes it easier to re-visit my heart ache. It's been a long and hard journey and I am not near the finish line but I already have my prize. Peace in Jesus, Faith that's been multiplied, a prayer life that has been strengthened and a son.

I've anticipated Simon's lullaby so when I caught myself singing the same song over and over again, I decided to look at it more closely. It's the well known Revelation song. In Revelation 4, it says that four appointed creatures sing "Holy Holy Holy is The Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come" day and night. They never stop. It goes on to say "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, they worship. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and their being." God willed Simon's life. Praise Him!

I thank God that I feel satisfied, I'm full because of all He's done for me. Glory to God!

Come and listen

It's crucial to share what God has done. It encourages and catapults us into action, praise and thanksgiving. It forces our eyes on Him and clears our vision.

 

Come and listen. Let me tell you what He has done for me.

 

Back in the Springtime, I remember a cloudy afternoon. I wanted to go running but knew that rain was coming. I asked Keilah to join and she was happy to accompany me. We made our way to the trail at the end of our neighborhood and began our jog. We both remained silent for a while. Then Keilah said "I hope we get to see a rainbow." And I thought "I sure could use a rainbow." The days leading up to that afternoon I had grown very weary. Life had been tough. Rainbows come after a storm and I was ready for my cloudy days to be gone.

Sure enough, the rain came and we ran back to the car. When we got home Keilah said she wanted to show me something. She got on the iPad and opened up the Gospel Project app, she filtered through options and turned up the volume. She pressed play and it was a song that said "I will keep keep my covenants, between me and you, between me and you" And the background picture was rainbow after rainbow. I cried. I knew God used Keilah to remind me of the covenant He made with me.

About a month earlier, I had been reading the Bible and kept coming across times in the Bible where a woman was about to become pregnant and was told to refrain from alcohol etc. I thought it was strange that I kept finding those verses. I listened, even though I felt a little crazy.  As I read those verses I felt Him telling me that I was to become pregnant.

One Summer morning, Keilah came out of her bedroom and said "Mama, you are going to have a baby boy!" I believed her, I think. That was one week before I took a pregnancy test that blurted out my positive result.

Come and listen. Let me tell you what He has done for us.

I wondered how my role in Lullaby of Hope would change. God sent me my ministry partner, Beth, in April. Her name was like a flashing neon sign. I remember telling God "Okay, I get it. There's something special about Beth." She was hungry to help with Lullaby of Hope. I knew nothing of her, except that we both lost our babies. God asked me to bring Beth alongside me. I wanted to trust God, but was also cautious about allowing her to join the ministry. So, I started to include Beth. She joined me at a conference in June. She brought me a gift with a card to encourage me because she knew I was nervous. She was just the ministry partner that I needed. God knew I needed her and He wanted her. I am ever so thankful that I was obedient to God's prompting. God's work is not meant to be done alone. Watching Beth grow in her relationship with Christ has been a true blessing for me. I am fully confident in her loyalty to God and her desire to be changed by Him. Now, our ministry responsibilities are shared. She and I spoke at a local MOPS group last month. I felt like a proud Mama sitting in the crowd.

The day I spoke at the MOPS group, I realized that the following day would be my baby's first birthday, if she had not stopped growing at 12 weeks. And that I was 23 weeks along with my son and Gracia died at 23 weeks. God is intentional. He makes a point to show you His sovereignty. His loving control for my life, quiets my sometimes nervous soul.

God is making Himself known through reading the Bible, people that surround you, prayer time, your child or spouse, your pain, your thoughts and your triumphs. Take time for the infinite God and listen.  He is speaking to you.

Come and listen, David Crowder Band



Relishing in Redemption

Redemption is the act of being saved from evil.

Last year I journeyed through great evil. The enemy intended to harm me, but God intended to use my pain for His good. Satan holds the power of death. What a grip he has. I believe it's a fine line of desiring and praying for God's plan, life here on earth, verses acting on fear to sustain life on earth. Everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to die.

I am 27 weeks along with my son. That sentence alone shoots a mile long smile, gleaming across my face. He is healthy and will be born in January. Some might wonder how I am coping with another pregnancy. Well, I am not coping at all, I am joyful in grace. I understand the gravity of seeing a specialist each month, yet I am not paralyzed by the possibility of a repeated story. I am 9 weeks ahead of Gracia's gestational age. Which allows me to have a reminder of Gracia's pregnancy, but also enough distance to help me remember that my son's life is uniquely different.

With the holidays coming up, I was remembering what we did last year and thinking about how this year will be different. I remember just before Keilah's 3rd Birthday, October 14, 2012, I announced my pregnancy with Gracia.  At Thanksgiving last year, I remember uncomfortably talking about Gracia's future as if her impending death wasn't real.  I remember missing my husband's Christmas party because we had just buried our daughter, 3 days before.

This year the same events and milestones will come. Keilah's Birthday has been wildly celebrated. Thanksgiving and Christmas will once again return. Only this time, a year later, we get to freely enjoy them.

I am at the place in life where I can eagerly recount the Lords steadfast love. He has brought me out of mire and placed my feet on solid ground.  What a mighty work He has done in a years time. I am relishing in His great redemption for me.

Sometimes God redeems us from our pain and sometimes God redeems us through our pain.

Testimony

I have a handful of failed ventures in my life. Some of which are disappointing and maybe a little embarrassing.  And sometimes I consider my ministry, Lullaby of Hope, and how I wish God chose someone else.  It causes me to re-live my daughters death at times that I want to be happy. But God calls us to be holy, not happy. He has given me an incredible testimony. Why would I ever wish that testimony to go away? This week has been challenging as I have ministered to two Mother's that gave birth to their babies and then their babies died.  One at 3 days old and the other at 6 weeks old. I feel inadequate to reach out to them because Gracia died 24 weeks gestational. But as I trust God, He fills the gap. I don't have to be a perfect fit, I just have to be willing. He is the potter and I am the clay.  As I consider the last 10 months of my life, I am humbled and so very thankful.  God has developed my testimony into a unique story that can't be distorted. A story that can not be forgotten. A story that I get to share with generations to come.

Forgive me Father for wanting to write my own story, clearly You are the great author.