Jeremiah



Jeremiah 29:11-12

 ^11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

 

Tomorrow afternoon is our next ultrasound.  I can't help but be a little nervous, knowing what we do - and yet I am prayerful and hopeful that we can listen to Faith's heart beating steadily away.

 

We went to town yesterday, and as I was in need of purchasing some larger pj's for Ben who is getting so very big, we went in to my favorite second hand children's clothing store Once Upon a Child.  They didn't have what I went in for, but I couldn't resist looking at the baby girl things...  the preemie sizes, knowing that Trisomy 18 babies tend to be very, very small at birth...  I found two adorable little baby gowns that have the front openings for easy access, and since they were only a few dollars each, I bought them - partly as an act of faith, and partly because I just really wanted to buy her something.  An act of showing God (not that He doesn't already know my heart, because I know that He does) that I trust Him and I believe that if it is His will, He can heal Faith...  and even if He does not heal her on this earth, that perhaps He might allow us to hold her and know her in this life before it is her time to go and live with Him.  Either way, she will need something to wear.

 

If you've seen the movie "Facing the Giants", you'll understand the context of the saying "preparing the ground for rain" - and that is what I am doing.  I trust that God will bring the rain, but rather than sitting there and watching for it to come, I'm preparing the fields for it, figuratively speaking.  Putting forth an act of faith that shows that I know He can and that HE WILL - in His good time.  We don't know what His timing is or will be, only He knows that.

 

Growing up, my Meema used to say that we could claim God's promises in prayer, and as she would pray (she was very much a Pentecostal - I am not, but I appreciate her deep faith and her amazing love for the Lord) she would "claim" things in prayer.  I'm not so sure I agree with that concept.  I know that God has given us promises, and I know that He always does what He says He will do...  but I think that sometimes in our human minds, we get an idea set of how that should look...  and what we envision isn't always what He meant.  I know that He will heal the sick and the wounded.  He says that He will, and I know that is true - but He doesn't say that He will heal them all in this life and on this earth...  some healing only comes in Heaven.  Since we cannot know when or where Faith's healing will come, we can only trust that He has a plan...  He has a plan for her, and He has a plan for us. 

 

His plan is for our good - though sometimes His plans for our good mean hurt in the process...  growth isn't pain free.  When a small child gets a new tooth growing in, it is a good thing - but it is uncomfortable for them, sometimes it is downright painful.  When God prunes our branches, so to speak, it is a painful process, but it is for our good.  The end result is something refined and more beautiful than we could ever hope to achieve without  Him - the end result is a more fruitful life.

 

So today my scripture promise, my prayer of thanksgiving comes from Jeremiah 29.  I know that He has a plan for our sweet unborn daughter, as He does for all of us.  And I know without a shadow of doubt that He hears our prayers, He listens to us when we talk to Him.  It is also my prayer that I listen when He is talking to me, and that I would hear in my heart, in my spirit, and in my mind, what He is saying.  Through the tears, through the hurt, through the joys...