was expecting this to happen but I never expected this to happen.”
Six years ago I was
expecting. At twenty-one weeks we went to the doctor for our ultrasound. I was expecting everything to be great. We
would see pictures of the baby, everyone would smile and we would go on our
way. What I wasn’t expecting was twins. And to add even more to the situation,
I wasn’t expecting the ultrasound tech to tell me she couldn’t find either of
their heartbeats.
He went in for surgery and when the surgeon came to talk to us we were
expecting him to say that everything went well.
What we were not expecting was for him to tell us that he had cancer,
they could do treatments, but the cancer was not curable.
We have a lot of expectations in life. Sometimes
good expectations that turn out seemingly bad and bad expectations that turn
out better than we could have imagined.
and they seemed to not turn out so great let me explain them more closely for
you.
relationship with us and uses things in our lives to draw us closer to Him. We
have two choices we can draw near to Him or turn away from Him.
life around. You can read more of the story in He Can Move Mountains.
You see until that moment I was living the “good
girl” Christian life meaning I was playing it safe. I was going to church on
Sunday and I could talk a good game but I was really living life for myself and
the way I wanted to live.
His Word so many realities sank straight into my heart. Here are just a few.
Jeremiah 10:23 reminds
us: I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to
plan our own course. I was planning how many kids I wanted. How far
apart I wanted them. How everything was going to go according to my plan. As a Christ follower I wasn’t
doing much following. I was not consulting God in my life and He knew He needed
to redirect my course.
producing a more steadfast faith. James 1:2-3 Count it
all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that
the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
My faith was shaky and wavering at best. This trial brought me to my knees. It brought
me to my face. It brought me to the point of surrender that Christ knew I
needed in order for Him to use me.
when you are in the midst of trials but James tells us to count it ALL joy because
the result is a firm, determined faith. The
kind of faith that requires submission to a God who is Greater than all our
trials.
In all my shock I kept saying why did this happen, I
don’t understand. I thought with all of the modern technology, why couldn’t
anything have been detected before this point. James 4:14 reminds
us: Why, you do not even know
what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes.
want. Our days are numbered and not by our own calendar. We are but a breath,
but a vapor, but a mist, and then our life is over. The choice then lies with
what we are going to do with this time.
moments I realized all God has given me. So I give it all back to him in every
way I can.
tribute I wrote for Father’s Day in A Life Like His.
My grandpa was a WWII veteran. He was stationed on
the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington. The Lexington was stationed in Pearl
Harbor. Two days before Pearl Harbor was attacked they went out to sea to do
practice exercises and the Lexington missed all the attacks on that dreadful
day.
Lexi, however, didn’t escape the war unscathed. She
was later attacked, was sunk, and the men had to abandon ship. My grandfather
told how he floated in open water for hours before being rescued by another
ship.
At the time my grandfather was not a believer but
God had plans for him that he could not have seen. My grandfather came home
from the war, later met my grandma, and they both became saved. My grandpa
spent his life serving the Lord even to the end.
Four weeks after my grandfather passed away, my
soon-to-be husband accepted Christ. He saw the life my grandpa had lived but
more importantly he saw how my grandpa died with an overwhelming peace and the
security that he would soon be home in the loving arms of his Father.
My husband wanted that kind of peace. While my
grandpa would be dearly missed, God changed the course for my life with my
husband. I wasn’t expecting out of his passing my husband would gain life.
This has made all the difference in our marriage. We
expected on our wedding day to vow to each other through it all. Beyond our
expectations, our marriage covenant with God has become the glue that binds us
together.
Life doesn’t always go the way we expect. Not many
people need to be told that.
life’s unexpected moments?
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