While all the gifts are being bought, lights strung, cookies baked and trees decorated, my mind has been on one question. What was it like for Joseph and Mary to carry the Promise of Messiah? What emotions ran through them as they awaited Jesus' birth? What was it like knowing that the Promise of Jesus was a threat to the ruler of their time and death of the firstborn was the aftermath of pride?
I believe we can be certain that Joseph and Mary had a wide range of emotions. After all, God called THEM to be the parents of Jesus. THEM. Mere commoners in a small village in Israel. They were ordinary. There was nothing extravagant about them through the eyes of men. However, God, their Father, saw them much differently. He had their "yes" and that's all that mattered to Him. He chose them because of their humble obedience. He chose them because their hearts were bent towards wanting God's will to be done in their lives. And God's will for them included both the Promise and the pain. God's will for them was to raise Jesus from infancy. God's will for them was to bear witness to every healing and teaching that poured from Jesus' life. God's will for them was also to see their son die on the cross to save all humanity from eternal separation from God.
How often do we neglect the pain because we just want the promise? I think it is a very natural human tendency to want to forfeit all the goodness God has for us because we are too afraid to walk through pain. But ALL OF IT is a part of life. ALL OF IT has a grand purpose that is far too beautifully mysterious for us to understand.
You see, for Joseph and Mary, carrying the Promise also meant knowing there would be pain. But even through the greatest of pain, there is the Promise of hope and joy beyond anything we will ever experience on this earth. Hope and Joy do exist. Hope and Joy is the Anchor of our souls when life becomes too much for us to handle on our own. Hope and Joy carry us through the greatest of storms.
Who is this Hope and Joy?
His name is Jesus.
And He came to earth for you and I.
My husband and I never imagined that 3 months after we got married, we would experience pain like a hurricane of a storm. Miscarriage is an explainable experience, especially if you're trying to find the words with someone who has never walked through this type of loss. Our first little one is in heaven with Jesus. And we will never forget how our son or daughter taught us, very early on, how to hold on to Hope & Joy...how to hold onto Jesus. We are forever thankful for our first child's life and the beautiful mystery of finding Jesus in the midst of what we didn't see coming.
And today, we are elated to share that there is Hope & Joy beyond the pain. There is freedom in surrendering our will to the Lord's and allowing Him to work all things out for our good. Jesus is trustworthy.
We are expecting again! 13 weeks pregnant and baby's heartbeat is perfect with LOTS OF MOVEMENT already. Our midwife said to us, "You guys are going to be running after this baby early on with how much they are already moving!" =)
“To our precious child, You are so deeply loved and irreplaceable. You are our answered prayer, our light, after the greatest of storms. And out of this storm, you will always have a big brother or sister in heaven with Jesus. And one day, you will play together, laugh together and dance together! Your brother or sister taught us the faithfulness of God in the midst of the dark days and you have already taught us the faithfulness of God when the rainbow appears in the sky again. Today, your father and I rejoice in knowing that you are growing healthy and strong...with all our hearts, we cannot wait to hold you in our arms in 6 months. And oh dear little one, you are our pride and joy and we cannot believe our Heavenly Father has entrusted you to us. You have a grand purpose on this earth! Always we will pray, fly with Jesus! He is worth it!”
