Greater is He...and More Special News...

I didn't think I would ever have the blessed opportunity of sharing something as special as this on my blog again...certainly not after my dear mother had not one or two, but three miscarriages in the past two years...

Dear friends I am simply delighted to be writing this post today and sharing with you the workings of our Almighty Father in our lives...

My precious mother is carrying a beautiful bundle, and for the first time, it is a...little boy!

Can you believe that...? 

We have never had one of those around here...only girls have been welcomed into our little family so far...  But we are all thrilled at this new blessing due to arrive in April 2016, Lord willing of course, and we are eagerly anticipating his arrival...

How strange to say his...surprisingly, from the very beginning of my mom's pregnancy, we all fell into saying ''him'' or ''his''...this was even before we discovered it was indeed a ''him'' all safe and healthy in my mother's womb!

My mother and I bought the first little babygro the other day and what joy it was to browse the baby section of the store again...without experiencing pain and heartache...

 

Rebekah, who is now a sweet six year old, was the first baby I wrote about on my blog...I started my blog in April 2009, and she was born a few months later in June of 2009...

My mom's past three miscarriages were difficult for us as a family to accept, and it was so hard to watch our mom go through such pain - both physical and emtional...

In August my mom quietly told me she was expecting once again, and although every ounce of me wanted to shriek with glee, I withheld my joy and remained focused on serving my mother and helping her through the next few weeks...each time she miscarried, it was at about 12 weeeks.  This time we withheld from telling the little girls until Mom was further along...

At 11 weeks my mom scheduled a scan, and we all waited anxiously at home, assuming the worst...but when my dad texted me with the news that all was well...oh my!  I burst into tears of joy and relief!

This week marks 19 weeks gestation, and after another scan, it appears that we are expecting a little brother...a precious, adorable baby boy!  

Having only had sisters up to now, this is a whole new experience and I can't wait to meet him...what will a little Gray boy look like?

You can imagine the happiness around here...we are so grateful to the Lord for seeing fit to bless our family with another little one and are humbled at His goodness...

Little Sofia is four years old and too adorable for words...she was the second baby I wrote about on my blog...and I thought she was the last...praise the Lord that He had other plans!

Having gone through the pain of losing unborn siblings, I have become more sensitive towards those ladies who have either lost an unborn precious babe or not been able to have children at all...  Oh, what pain, and I pray I may never take the gift of life for granted!  

While my family may be rejoicing at this time in our lives, I realise many other dear ladies may be reading my post today and experiencing tremendous heartache...I pray that your hearts may be comforted by the True Comforter...I believe He aches for us in our pain, and sees our sorrow...

Sometimes we need to go through certain trials in life to be more sympathetic towards others...even though the past three miscarriages were not something we would have chosen to go through - no one likes to suffer - but we did come out of these challenges stronger in our faith and closer towards each other...

We chose to praise the Lord for seeing fit to allow my mom to carry and give birth to six healthy girls...I think experiencing the fragility of life makes us all the more thankful for the blessings we do have and more appreciative of the time we have had with them.

Every day we live and breathe on this earth is a gift from our Father in heaven, and each day spent with a precious loved one is only by God's grace...  I am striving to embrace and enjoy each swiftly passing moment and season in life, and thank Him for the privilege of being a big sister to so many...

Do I love being with them all the time...?  No.  Am I always wonderfully patient and giving of my time...?  Oh, definitely not!  But the Lord sees my failings and is so gracious in giving me another sibling to practice on...
How do we develop patience, self-control and gentleness within ourselves...?  By daily practicing!  What better way to rid myself of all selfishness than to be in this home where I am surrounded by imperfect individuals like myself and am constantly on call and available for His glory!  No, it is not easy and many times I cry out to our Father for His strength and grace!

And then He reminds me of the beautiful sacrifice made by my dear mother...

...She has laid down her plans and her life to carry another arrow for His army...another precious babe for the Kingdom...  I pray someday I may be just like her...what a blessing to learn from her and see the workings of our Almighty God in our lives because of her obedience.

We continue to trust Him to carry our baby brother and uphold our mom, giving her all the strength she needs...and I ask that you, my dear friends who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, would you keep this little one and my mother in your prayers...?

~

I am so glad to have had the blessing of sharing this special news with you today...all praise and glory to our Lord and King...for His love endures forever...

With joy in Christ ~

 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:  and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty warrior; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them..."

~ Psalm 127:3-5, KJV