"Happy New Year!" What does that mean anyway? What are we trying to convey when we greet one another with that expression? Pastor Marc Cargill uses this greeting " May your best day of 2002 be your worse day of 2003!" How wonderful it would be if that would come to pass-some of God's people had some rough waters to pass through during 2002! However, we also can assume that some of God's people will have some fire to pass through in 2003.
One of our personal "tests" for this past year concerned our new grandson. When our daughter was a few months pregnant the doctor ordered a routine ultra-sound. We were all excited, anticipating the confirmation that he was truly a "he" as the Holy Spirit had spoken to our son-in-law Andrew.
The ultra-sound tech told them 51% chance it is a boy. The doctor added a couple of days later "We see a small patch of white spots on his brain". If he develops more patches and along with other "markers' this could indicate Down's Syndrome. We will order a second ultra-sound in 6-8 weeks to monitor the situation.
Rosanna called us to share the news and immediately the Holy Spirit spoke to my husband and said, "No, it's not a problem" What a relief.
However I began to intercede more for Aaron and I also began to look for scriptures to stand on. My friend Bonnie Raymond emailed Psalm 139-and as I began to read in the Amplified Bible I came to verse 16: Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book [all the days of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there were none of them.
The Holy Spirit began to convey the knowledge that Aaron was going to have everything he needed to fulfill God's purpose through his life. I was filled with peace and expectation that this little one was part of God's plan for our family as well as His Kingdom.
As I continued to pray and meditate on this scripture, I began to be aware that not only did the Lord know Aaron's days even before he was born he knew mine! Of course I know that God is omniscient, but the fresh reality that He was aware of everyday I was going to live through brought continual peace and excitement.
Omniscience is a theological term that refers to God's superior knowledge and wisdom. It is His attribute to know all things. Each one of us has been "custom designed" to be fit for the Master's use. In your mother's womb he fashioned and shaped you with the knowledge of your future days in mind. Your genetic inheritance was mapped for you with a plan and purpose. I find this amazing and securing.
David was writing Psalm 139 amazed how the details of his life were in God's hand. How the Lord could place him in Jesse's household, not as the firstborn son, but as the least. (We know how birth order affects our lives.) We don't know if all of Jesse's family had the gift of music--but we know that God used the life of a shepherd boy to hone his gift in such a way that even evil spirits had to come subject.
Sisters, I want you to have even more than just a "Happy" New Year--I want you to have a fruitful year. A year where you can look back and see where you have grown in your relationship with Jesus. A year where you can see how God has used you to help build His kingdom by influencing those around you with His grace and love.
Has God been challenging you to allow Him to stretch you in new areas? Some of you He has been challenging to start writing. Some of you He wants to increase your skill level in worship leading. Others he is working on your understanding of His Word and how to communicate its principles in new levels and with new skills. Still others are being stretched in your parenting techniques as your children grow into new
seasons of their lives.
What we need to remember is that He has promised to equip us. Proverbs 31:10 A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman--who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.
Who can find her? We usually connect this with a man finding a "good" wife. I want to give it a new spin because I believe that in each of you is that capable, intelligent and virtuous woman...and your Heavenly Father can find her! If you feel like there are areas in your life where you aren't capable, intelligent or even virtuous...know that God can mine that out of you. If we cooperate with Him, He knows how to bring those areas to the surface if we will simply trust that they are there and that God has given us everything that we need to fulfill His purpose in our lives.
The blessing of remembering that God knows our days was re-emphasized on what became as Aaron's birthday.
Around 8:00 p.m. Rosanna's water broke. She called us at 8:15 and they set off for the hospital and after a flurry of activity we did the same. They arrived at 8:50, we arrived at 10:40. The nurse said, "She's already pushing". Andrew, her husband, and Jodie her friend were in place supporting Rosanna. When I got to the room they said she was at 7 and I couldn't figure out why they had her pushing...but they did. By 11:00 or so she was at "10" . It became apparent that the baby wasn't tolerating the contractions well and the nurse said " we may need assistance if things don't change in the next two or three contractions". Right after she spoke, the doctor walked in, evaluated the situation and called for the vacuum extractor. For several minutes he worked with it to help Rosanna bring Aaron into the world. In the meantime, things became very quiet in the room with us all praying. I began to meditate on truth of this scripture, Lord,, today is the day written for Aaron's birth, and you know the difficulties Rosanna and Andrew are dealing with as first time parents, thank you for your grace. It was so comforting to know that none of this had caught Him off guard.
Aaron was born officially at 11:23--cord wrapped around his neck, he was blue and had swallowed meconium. As he lay on the doctor's lap still, blue and quiet I couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. My heart kept saying, breathe baby breathe, please live. (I didn't know until later that the doctors don't try to stimulate a baby who may have aspirated meconium until they can suction as much from them as possible). They moved him to the warmer. Everybody was still quiet with a few comments made to Rosanna on how big he was (8 lbs 4.8 oz). They suctioned him and we finally heard a tiny mewing sound like a small kitten. It was a wonderful sound to hear. They whisked him, along with his dad, off to the special care nursery and again I thought about the God who formed this little baby and how he had been here with us through it all.
I ran out to tell Darryl about the birth and to pray. God had already spoken to him to speak life and rebuke death. I came back in and Rosanna was still bleeding, the doctor was wondering aloud why she was still bleeding so much. I prayed for her and the doctor sewed her up. We found out later that she had lost 1 liter of blood, had a 4th degree tear and at one point her blood pressure dropped to 69/43! How wonderful it was to trust God's hand in all of this.
We didn't expect it--but God knew all about it. Due to the shortness of labor, Rosanna didn't get both doses of antibiotic she needed to protect Aaron from Beta B strep and they were concerned that he might have suffered head trauma from the vacuum extraction...but he has recovered well. He had to stay in the special care nursery for one week and they brought him home on Thanksgiving Day. The CT scan they did came out fine on his head and he is feeding well and growing fine.
No matter what difficulties lie ahead--or blessings for that matter, let us remember that we are not alone in them. It was a difficult time for us all--but made easier because of God's Word and His promises. God uses His Word to stabilize us during stormy times. Nothing catches Him off guard and He works to prepare us for the tests that we go through. .
Written by: Martha Rodman