So often we want to be in the Lord’s will meaning we want God to do what we want Him to do for our benefit.

As I was on my knees before the Lord, I said, “Lord, not my will but yours be done.” I had never prayed in this manner before and never thought I would be praying this over the lives of my babies.

But here I was, seeking the Lord’s absolute will and only asking for the peace that only He can give.

We can ask a lot of questions and He may be willing to give us answers but sometimes our why or why not are to understand that God is Sovereign.  That He rules and reigns over all.

He wants us to know that with all of the modern technology, there are not always definitive answers and with all of the modern technology, God’s decides the beating of a heart.

Why? Because Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

The LORD breathed into man the breath of life and through the life of Job we are reminded And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21

The Lord decides when to give life and He decides when to take it away.

I promised the Lord one thing that day. No matter what, I will love you.

And I do. With all my heart and not because he gave me what my heart desired but because He rescued me from myself through it all.

I had been the prodigal daughter and He was waiting with open arms for me to come running to Him and He knew what it would take. This was it.

A couple of weeks ago as my kids and I were driving on our way to school, they asked me, “Mommy, why did the babies die? (Keep in mind this is going on eight years ago. But they know they have a brother, sister and another baby in heaven.)

I told them it was because God wanted them in heaven with Him. Why they wanted to know. My only response, Because He wanted me back more.

I don’t know God’s plans for my life. I don’t pretend to know what it is that God processes or thinks. His ways are higher than mine and I praise Him for that.

What I do know is that when God loses one of His children. When the Good Shepherd has lost one of His sheep. He will go after them. Sometimes in ways that are beyond our comprehension.

Being the Good Good Father that He is, it is for His glory and for His kingdom gain.

I can tell you, had my life not been affected in this drastic way, I probably would not be sitting here today with you.

Although some questions are never answered, we can walk in faith that God Knows and it goes according to His plan. We can trust that all things flow from His goodness.

To answer some of my questions, He did. 

Why? Because He is sovereign. He is above all and in control of all and even when it all seems to be falling completely apart, He holds life in the palm of His hand.

Why? Because He has us sketched in the palm of His hand and no one, not even ourselves, will snatch us away.

Why? Because His plans for us are to draw near to Him where we can be protected and lead to walk in His path so we can know the great Love that He has for us in every situation.

Would I get to hold their little hands and kiss their sweet little feet? No. In fact, I wouldn’t get to see them at all. Their handprints and footprints were given to me right after they were delivered. You wouldn’t believe how small and oh so perfect they are.

We named our little boy Noah and our little girl Faith. The week I had to “think it all over” gave me a chance to process some of what happened.

What I have are the memories held together by the peace of God that has surpassed all of my understanding. The memories of what God did for me so I would know how to praise Him through it all and to love Him no matter the circumstance surrounding my day.

Their lives were fragile. All life is fragile and precious and we should look at each day as the gift that God meant it to be. We should live for praising God in this moment and leave tomorrow to deal with itself.

Noah and Faith have been the rainbow at the end of the rainy day that brought me back God.

I would love to say it was that easy. One week and that was it. Like everything we are a process in which God needs to work in our lives.  Although God worked mightily in that week, I am still learning what God wants to teach me. 

The important part is I am learning with Him by my side.

Your story may not be anything like mine. But God can work in the same way.

God can give us peace when life is beyond our comprehension. He can give us life when we are threatened with throwing it all away to be more like this world.

He can stop us in our tracks to get our attention and reroute our current path.

No matter what, we can be assured of this, God loves us very much and in this world, we will have trouble but in Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross we can have hope and peace.

We can have hope in the midst of our circumstances, heartbreaks, trials, daily lives and most importantly when life hurts the most. 

Christ died so that we may live and live this life to the fullest. We get so much grace and mercy poured out on us that we can have an overflow to pour out onto others.

If you would like to talk about how you can know Jesus as your personal Savior, please email me. youresewtrendy@gmail.com I would love to have this conversation with you.

Please visit me in the comments below. Let me know what things you are facing right now that may need prayer. Please encourage us and let us know how you have been an overcomer through Christ Jesus.

Many blessings to you and the rest of your week. 

Also, if you are encouraged by this and other articles you read here, could you please share this with your friends and family. I would love for them to join us.

I would love to connect with you on social media! 
You can Find Me at the Links Below!

Jaime Wiebel – Facebook | Twitter |  Pinterest |  Google+

This week’s featured friend is Susan Shipe from 
Hope Heart Home
I have learned a lot about Susan through the comments. I love that she encourages and shares her wisdom and her heart with other bloggers. This is a place where real conversations can happen and I appreciate that she hangs out there. On her site, Susan offers hope from her heart to yours. She has several 31-day devotionals available from Amazon. Read More about Susan here. 
Thank you so much for the encouragement every week, Susan, I am glad you are here!

*** Joining Us Here? You are welcome to join me on Pinterest and Pin to Our Sitting Among Friends Blog Party Board where I will be happy to re-pin posts to my other boards. *** 

It was December 2009, one week before Christmas. I had been so excited to go to the doctor to do what every new and expecting parent gets to do, have an ultrasound.

I had decided to take my mom and dad because my dad had never gotten to go to an ultrasound before. We were so excited as we quickly jammed into the extra small room that happened to be the only one left at the clinic.

As the tech apologized for the really small room but we were so excited to see the sweet little faces, feet, and hands of that new little person that we didn’t care if we had to squeeze into a closet.

Of course, all eyes are on the screen except mine. Mine were on this amazing group of people that had come to celebrate this day: my husband, my little boy, my mom and dad, and the tech (I’m sure she was excited). We waited eagerly to hear those first sounds that all moms and dads long to hear.

That precious heartbeat. The sound is a symphony to a mom’s ears. When you hear that sound, oh, how your heart melts.

Feeling and hearing the signs of life, your heart grows a little bigger to have a special place for that little one.

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

This particular day was different. As I looked at the screen, I noticed two little bodies lying feet to feet. Cradled in the lower part of the womb God created for them.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Two? Really? Mine?

As my excitement grew for two littles. I looked at the others in the room and they looked as surprised and confused as I did.

The looks and the excitement quickly faded as I looked into the tear-filled eyes of the tech.

That precious sound we so desperately waited for was not there. No heart beats. No movement.

The moment everything changes. The moment your dreams of holding and loving the precious little darlings you knew from deep within for the first time is quickly snapped away. Your spirit is crushed like nothing you ever knew.

I insisted that the tech was wrong. We had just heard at least one at the last appointment. I asked her to get the Doppler. Maybe. Just Maybe. That would work, after all, it picked up a heartbeat the last time.

The doctor came in and verified they were not viable. Their hearts break with mine as they recommended I take some time to think about this.

I didn’t understand. How was it, I was in my twenty-first week of pregnancy and they missed something? Like a whole other baby or the fact that there was something wrong.

Now, they wanted me to go home and think about this for a few days.  

The feelings are none that I can explain. The loss of two little darlings at the same time. Unexplainable.

Because I was as far along as I was, it was considered a pregnancy loss. Meaning, I had to make some decisions about what would happen to the babies.

So I had to wait. I was left with few answers and an unexplained loss. 

If you have gone through this or a miscarriage (I also had a miscarriage right after this pregnancy loss), I know the pain is so great. I want to say to you, I am so sorry. I don’t know if there is any greater heartbreak than losing a child.  

I didn’t mean to fly through this story but my story doesn’t end there. I will share more of it next week.

Before you go, know that there is hope and I hope I will be able to encourage you through this experience.

My rest and my hope came from Jesus and I want to encourage you to lean into Him. Next week, I will talk to you more about how I did just that.  

If you are at a place where you need some hope to move you to a new place, I hope you will come back. I know our stories are not the same and no one has the same exact story or feelings but I want to encourage you more.   

Quick Fact: October 1988, President Ronald proclaimed October as National Pregnancy Loss and Miscarriage Awareness Month.

I want to use this opportunity to be able to encourage you with my story.

The comfort I received from Christ was not to be kept to myself but to encourage others.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4

Whatever your situation, please do not feel like you have to face this alone. Please seek out someone that has been in your place or seek online help resources. Also, if you ever need to contact me for encouragement or a conversation you can contact me at jaime@jaimewiebel.com

Also, if you are encouraged by this and other articles you read here, could you please share this with your friends and family. I would love for them to join us.

I would love to connect with you on social media! 
You can Find Me at the Links Below!

Jaime Wiebel – Facebook | Twitter |  Pinterest |  Google+

This week’s featured friend is Jill Holler from changedbyhisgrace.com
Jill is a good friend of mine. I love to have opportunities to have conversations with her because they always lead to real conversations about Jesus. I am excited to feature Jill here this because she just had her devotional book release. You can find Jill’s guest post on this recent blog post where you can comment for a chance to win a copy of her book here. 

*** Joining Us Here? You are welcome to join me on Pinterest and Pin to Our Sitting Among Friends Blog Party Board where I will be happy to re-pin posts to my other boards. *** 

With Thanksgiving getting busy, we did not get our fat little turkey opened up so we put it up to open this year. I am excited to look through it. I am excited to see how we have changed. I am excited to see how God has blessed our family throughout this past year.

I love the reminder from James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

We were freely given these good and perfect gifts. They are unearned and undeserved. 

 Often times we go down our list: We are thankful for our family, our kids, our spouses, our health, our jobs, our homes. Sometimes we become like someone at the Grammies receiving an award. I want to Thank God for my mom and dad and first-grade teacher and … we rattle off our list… and most of all I am thankful for God.

Do not get me wrong, I am sure that you are very sincere and grateful for your list.

Today, however, I want you to pause for a minute because sometimes by Friday morning we are already complaining about the clerk at the checkout line.

So pause… and… breathe. Close your eyes if you have to. This is not a race to the finish. 

Keep breathing. Sit in the stillness of God. This too is a gift and we forget to take the time to just be still.

We rush through this season and forget to breathe.

Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Genesis 2:7

The breath that is slowly going in and out of your lungs is a gift.

When God reached down from Heaven, scooped up the dirt to form man, He breathed into him the very first gift of breath and he became a living creature.

I always imagine this scene with God’s magnificent and mighty hands slowly scooping up just the right dirt and thoughtfully crafting and carving the first man. Gently pushing the hair out of his eyes.

After He had created Him, taking a deep breath and gently breathing life into this new being. Then looking at him lovingly, as a new father looks at his first-born child, boldly and proudly proclaiming this is very good.

If you go back and recount the creation story from Genesis every day God was creating something new, He was looking at His creation and saying that it was good. Look around today at God’s creation, He Himself has declared it good and it is His gift to you. 

Remember James 1:17. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father.

This story would not be complete without the gift of salvation. The gift of God’s grace.

Leaving His heavenly home. Coming to this lowly place and giving His life. Remember the word for gift means given freely. An unearned, undeserved gift. That is what Christ gave us on the cross.

He chose through His grace and mercy to love us… a gift

He chooses to give us life… a gift

He chose to send His one and only Son… a gift

He chose to die so we might live… a gift

Now this is where we respond. We can take this gift or leave it. We can choose to accept it or not. We can go toward Christ in our life or walk away.

If you already have Christ in your life, He offered this gift to you. Although we may be quick to think we chose this gift, remember God offered the perfect gift of the cross to you.

God tells His people in Isaiah 43:4, “Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”

Other people were given in your place. Other people were given in exchange for you.

You have the gift of salvation because He chose you because He loves you and you are precious to Him.

What a gift! Now that is a reason to have a thankful heart.

We should not miss a single day forgetting and being thankful to our God because He chose us.

Thank you Heavenly Father for this day. Thank you for the opportunity to praise you and show our gratitude for all the good and perfect gifts that only come from you. Thank you for choosing us to be your people. Thank you for everything including the breath of life that you continue to give us. I do not want to miss a day remembering all that I have and am because of who you are. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Previous Posts you may enjoy:

Grace and Mercy 

                      Come As You Are   

                                           You Are Uniquely You