A Prayer for Friday, May 27
[7] Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: [8] Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, [9] lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9 ESV)
Father, I admit that too often my belly is full. I preoccupy myself with the abundance of your gifts to me, rather than focus my gratitude on the giver.
I expect you to give me abundance according to my terms. I expect you to give me all manner of things that are desirable to me, rather than needful to me.
Show me what it is to be content. Show me what it is to live a life of gratitude and dependence, so that all may know… so that I MAY KNOW… that the giver of all things was according to my need and according to your supply.
SDG. Amen.
A Guest Post from Jen: Thoughts on Week 33
(Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from my sweet wife, Jen. I continue to be encouraged and amazed by this woman, and hope that you will find this piece informative, encouraging, and uplifting. She will be able to see (and hopefully respond) to some of the comments posted here.)
Week 33 Update: Ponderings, Plans, and Prayer Requests.
Ponderings…
Fall will be here in two days and it’s looking like God will answer our prayers for a fall
Image via Wikipedia
baby! It was still spring when I started bed rest on June 8th. I still can’t believe that I have completely missed the entire summer even though it was nothing but hot outside! No pool, no beach, no traveling, no garden, no getting to all the many plans I had for the summer to nest and prepare for baby. God had other plans. He asked me to give up all my plans and desires for the life of my unborn child. I know that God has been and is using this time to teach me things I would not have learned otherwise. Patience is probably the number one lesson here for obvious reasons. Tied with that is constantly being reminded that I am not in control of anything, never have and never will be no matter how much I try. I must constantly surrender my will and this baby’s life to God which is a daily struggle. Among other things, I am also learning humility, graciousness, gratitude, and the power of the faithful prayers of God’s people. Even though this has been the most difficult and uncomfortable time of my life so far, I am grateful that God has chosen this journey for me so that I can be refined and molded to become more like Christ.
God has also given me opportunities to live out I Peter 3:15 “…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” Many of the nurses, doctors and other hospital workers constantly comment on my positive attitude, patience and how I’ve handled things so well compared to other patients who go crazy and get very crabby after just a few days. I cannot take any credit for this. I know I have bad attitudes and impatience all the time. It is humbling to hear these comments and I try to tell people every chance I get, that it has nothing to do with me but it is only because of Christ in me that I can smile and have hope.
Plans…
So the plan is to go home next Monday when I hit 34 weeks as long as baby and I are behaving. I am so excited to get to go home for a few weeks! I miss my hubby, my pets, my bed and being able to step outside into the sunshine and get some fresh air. Of course I am a little nervous about being far from the hospital. I will still need to be off my feet most of the time, but I will have a little more freedom to get up and move around more.
Image via Wikipedia
We will travel to Augusta once or twice a week for ultrasounds and monitoring. If something doesn’t look right I will be admitted again. We have decided it would be best to deliver here since the doctors and nurses here all know me and are aware of my high risk conditions. I will return to Augusta at 37 weeks to have the stitch removed (sometime during the week of Oct 18th). I might go into labor right away or I might not if there is a lot of scar tissue from the cerclage. After talking to the Dr, there is a good chance that they might induce me at that point or keep me in the hospital till I deliver because of my unique situation. Generally, they send people home the day of removal if they don’t go into labor after a few hours. The plan is for a normal delivery, but they are always prepared for a c-section if necessary. I told them that I don’t plan on leaving the hospital at that point if the baby is still inside of me! Of course these plans could all change as I can still go into labor anytime.
Prayer Requests…
- Continue to pray for health and safety of me and the baby.
- Pray for safe travels as we go back and forth to Augusta.
- Pray for David as he continues to balance work and time with me. Things at church will only be getting busier as we get closer to the holidays.
- Pray that I do not go into labor at home and that I will not be discharged from the hospital after the stitch comes out.
- Pray that the amniotic fluid level will fall into a normal range before delivery and that my frequent contractions might let up a bit.
- We have also been having more trouble controlling my gestational diabetes as the baby and placenta keeps growing. My placenta is a little larger than normal anyway because of the chorioangioma. The hormones produced by the placenta cause the pancreas to have a hard time keeping up with insulin demands. My oral meds have been increased twice and make me drowsy. I still get crazy sugar levels at times even though I am following their diet which seems to consist of lots of foods that spike your sugar like fruit juice, white bread, rice, potatoes and desserts. It’s so confusing. Being sedentary doesn’t help things either. Pray that I will be able to keep my sugars in control, especially when I go home and that I won’t need insulin shots.
- Pray for wisdom for the doctors as they make decisions regarding my care.
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy update and for rejoicing with us that God has brought us safely to this point in the pregnancy! He has certainly exceeded our expectations! We so appreciate all your prayers, visits, calls, cards and encouragement as we have journeyed through this trying time.
Some thoughts on “Why”, and Week 32.
Image by Digu Hang Pics via Flickr
I am so grateful for the faithful prayers of God’s people. Miraculously, we have gotten to week 32 (the mere utterance sends chills down my spine as I think about the fact that NO ONE thought we would be here). It is amazing to witness that God chose to answer his people in this way. And I am humbled. Here is a snapshot of some of Jen’s thoughts:
32 weeks! What a milestone and an answer to prayer! We are getting closer to the point where we might be able to take baby home when he’s born! 2 weeks till I go home! Stitch should come out at 37 weeks and he just might stay put till then.
There might be a much different end to this than we first thought. That is a miracle in and of itself. I hope to think (and thus, write) more about this in the future, but I wanted to take an initial crack at the most looming question of all (which, truth be told, I still don’t fully understand).
Why. Why? Why this, why us, why now?
Image via Wikipedia
Beyond the short answer (why not us, why not this, why not now), I find great encouragement from C. H. Spurgeon, in his devotional Faith Checkbook:
The yoke of affliction, disappointment, and excessive labor is by no means to be sought for; but when the Lord lays it on us in our youth, it frequently develops a character which glorifies God and blesses the church. Come, my soul, bow thy neck; take up they cross. It was good for thee when young; it will not harm thee now. For Jesus sake, shoulder it carefully.
So, would you pray this for Jen and I as we continue to wrestle, both with the uncertainty of the future and the reality of the present… that the answer to this question of why might be, for both of us, for Jesus’ sake and for his kingdom, that He would develop in us a character which glorifies himself and blesses the church?
We love you all. Thank you so much for your continued prayers with us.
Quick Pregnancy Update: Week 29
From my wife Jen’s Facebook status (from Monday):
29 weeks today! Not too much new here, besides getting bigger and more uncomfortable with all that extra fluid and a growing baby! It doesn’t help being only 5 feet tall! I still contract regularly, but it’s not painful. If I make it to 34 weeks, they said I might be sent home if things don’t change.
I know that I, like her, am deeply grateful for all of the prayers that have been offered on behalf of our little one (and us, as well). Please continue to pray that God keeps him safe, secure, and stable inside his Momma… we are medically on “borrowed time”, and so our mantra continues to be “stay, baby, stay!”
a quick update in week 24
This is what Jen posted today on her facebook status:
I had a more accurate ultrasound done yesterday that shows about 5mm of cervix left. Not good. It also revealed that the mass in the placenta is most likely a chorioangioma (google it) which can cause additional serious complications since it interferes with the normal blood flow to baby. I don’t know what this all means but to just keep praying. Another ultrasound is scheduled tomorrow to check blood flow to baby’s brain.
Clearly we don’t know what this all means, but we know that God is good, and does what is good. Please continue to pray both for us and for our baby.
