Expectant

So it's been a while since we've known, but we just started sharing the news online this past week - we are pregnant!






Jodi's about 10 weeks into her journey as a preggo mommy, and we are so enveloped by it all. The news, what that means for our future, what that means for us presently, the joy, the tears, the shock, the planning...the love. We are living a dream.

This whole feeling of expecting a child reminds me of something I've daydreamed about many a time in the past few years. It reminds me of a pregnancy other than having babies. 

God paints us a unique picture of His processes through this word "pregnancy." He is a God of process, you know. Isn't that amazing? I would have it no other way. I wouldn't want to serve a divine being who operates on instant gratification alone. Think about it: as humans, as Americans, that's all we want. We want what we think we need right now. I refer to it as a "microwave" worldview. Want a stronger faith? Pop in a prayer for a few minutes and out comes a tasty faith! Want patience? Take a bag out of the freezer, microwave on high for 2:30 and enjoy! But God is not a microwave-ready God...and I'm so glad He's not. If we all got what we wanted - or even what we needed - right away, there would be no growth opportunity, no substance to the product. It would be like a house with a foundation built on sand, like Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7. It takes time to build a house right, on the right foundation, with the right materials. 

Nope, God loves a good process in your life. Even though it's tough, that's the point - tough stuff builds an even tougher faith. It builds character. Romans 5:3-4 says, "We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!" (MSG, emphasis added) 

Expectancy is meant for more than physical pregnancy. Being expectant is a process, in relation to a baby and our spirit. Our spirits are supposed to be pregnant too, did you know that? Pregnant with hope for God to make something beautiful out of our present suffering. Pregnant with joy for God's purpose to course through our lives like a torrent. Pregnant with praise for all God's faithfulness to us. There's times when I'm bursting at the seems with praise! Have you stopped recently to daydream about God's faithfulness in your life? If you can't think of anything, you're likely not giving God the credit He's due for the things He's done. Humans are quick to pin the blame on God when the crap hits the fan, but we aren't so quick to realize the blessings that have come from His hand. I'll take it a step further: humans are also naive to the fact that God only wants to bless His children, not punish them. But that's a whole 'nother ball game for a different day.

So be expectant of God's faithfulness! Expectant of God's hand at work in your life. It'll be a process, but the outcome is worth it: a brand new creation, a beautiful little proof of God's goodness. We are pregnant for an amazing little baby, but our spirits have been pregnant for many good things over the past few years, so we're used to pregnancy by now ;)  Comment with what YOU are pregnant for in your life right now!