Without any delay, on to the big announcement...we are expecting our first grandchild!! After many years of trying to conceive, our daughter Rachel and her husband Josh are expecting their first child. It's been a long and hard struggle with many disappointments and discouragement along the way, but God is faithful!
I want to share a little of our story in hopes that it will encourage someone who may be believing God for something and have not yet seen it come to pass. Josh and Rachel starting trying to conceive back in 2009. It was a very private thing for them, and although we knew they were trying they did not share many details with us at that time. On February 20, 2010 I was sitting in church on a Sunday morning praying about it, and I knew that morning that God spoke to my heart that He was going to give them a child. I know the exact date because I wrote it in the back of my Bible. One of the things I wrote was, "Thank you, Lord, for the child you are going to give Josh and Rachel!" Over the ensuing months and years, Rachel and I did not discuss it much at all. It was so painful for her to talk about it, so I didn't bring it up. Only if she brought it up did we talk about it.
Probably about two years later, Rachel called and asked us to meet them for dinner that night and also had invited Joe and Paige, Josh's parents. I told Terry, "Maybe she's pregnant". But, when we got there Josh started talking to us and sharing that it had been such a hard thing for them that they now needed to share it with us since it had become so hard for them to carry it alone. We all cried a lot that night. That night, I even asked God, "did I miss you when I thought you had promised a child?" I feel sure that I know the voice of God when He speaks to my heart, but things certainly did not look promising at all. The next morning during my devotion time, I said out loud, "God, I need a word from you today". And, then (as I'm sure you have done) I started randomly flipping through the Bible (which I don't absolutely recommend doing all the time!) looking for a word from Him. And, nothing. Then I said out loud again, "Lord, you don't have to give me a word. I trust you". I then opened my Bible and it fell open to Psalm 128. I use the New Kings James version. I read the chapter, and when I got to the last verse this is exactly how it is worded, "Yes, may you see your children's children"! Praise God for his Word! I wrote that verse down and taped it to my bathroom mirror and quoted it every day and every time I prayed about it.
In the meantime, God began speaking to Rachel and giving her scriptures as well that she also held to and prayed and quoted. If you want to read her story, you can find it on her blog here:
Rachel had a pretty nasty fall over this past weekend, so the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay. This was five days before their 20-week ultrasound which is already scheduled. We were planning to have a gender reveal party that night. They were not planning to find out the baby's gender until that night as well (the technician was going to put it in an envelope, and we would all find out at the same time). Well, they changed their mind, and Rachel called me after the ultrasound and said, "It's a boy"!
Is that not the cutest picture ever of him sucking his thumb? We love him so much already!!
If you are praying for something and have not seen it come to pass, don't lose hope. If God said it, He will do it!! Trust Him. He fulfills His promises....not sometimes but every time!!
We had a great Father's Day as a family. We went to Outback to celebrate. We've had so much to celebrate lately. God has blessed us so much! I'll close with a couple of pictures from that day.
Okay, I couldn't resist...our latest baby bump pic:
Is she not just the cutest ever?
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