4.30.2013

Great is Thy Faithfulness

O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!


Photo by Bethany Blair Photography
I've always loved the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness". It reminds me of my little hometown church back in Tumbling Shoals, AR (oh, yes - it is a real place, folks!) It reminds me of my daddy's voice echoing from the pulpit as he led singing each Sunday in that church. But throughout the 15 weeks of this pregnancy, this sweet and nostalgic church song has taken on so much more meaning and symbolism.

Yesterday we received amazing news that our little one is healthy. After waiting for a couple of weeks for the results of some major tests, our anxiety was put to rest: Baby S is healthy, strong and thriving. As I listened to my OB's nurse, (who has become such a source of strength and encouragement for us throughout the past two weeks), I felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. I felt God's presence so powerfully in our little kitchen as I stood there yesterday, clutching the tear-drenched phone, thanking Him for the words our nurse spoke into the phone: "...your baby is perfectly healthy! The results couldn't have been better, Leslie. You and Stephen can sleep easy tonight. Your child is fine."

I won't dive into many of the specifics on here, but at 12 weeks, we received some startling information following an ultrasound and were referred to a high-risk OB for further "analysis". Now as a parent, you never want to hear the words "your baby" and "further testing" in the same sentence. But, this doctor to which we were referred has been our angel. Immediately after our consultation and higher-level ultrasound, his tone was much more optimistic. You could just tell he was a doctor that had seen "that look" in many a set of worried parents' eyes...and he wanted to help. We left that appointment with a lot more positivity than before. Things just felt different. However, we still had to wait for the final word in all things medical: the test results, which would take anywhere from 8-14 days to finalize.

And this 8-14 days was the most stress-inducing of our lives as a young couple. Despite the frenzy, the breakdowns, (including one in the produce aisle of a Walmart Neighborhood Market after I saw a mother pushing her infant in a stroller), the nervous jolts every time the phone rang between 8:00 and 5:30, the Lord kept his ever-steady hand on us. Every day we were shown grace and support from complete strangers- and in ways I'd never imagined. I had two women in two different department stores stop me to say, "I read your blog and my family and I are praying for you." We received a beautiful hand-made prayer shawl from Sarah and her amazing congregation in Massachusetts. We received words of encouragement each day from co-workers and supervisors. We saw God show Himself in the smallest details. And friends, it was such a beautiful thing.

As awful as these two weeks have been, I am so grateful for this experience. I really don't know if we would have appreciated, truly appreciated, this pregnancy as much as we do now. Yes, we were very thankful before, but this has given us an entirely different perspective. And, it has brought us even closer together as a married couple.

As we go through our lives, I pray that we are constantly reminded of this experience and the ways in which it has enriched our faith. I pray that we never forget that, although we live in a broken world, it is filled with incredible, generous people. And I pray that, above all, Stephen and me can share our testimony of His grace and mercy.

Great is our faithfulness.

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24: 15
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P.S. - Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayer. We are humbled and so, so grateful, friends.

27 comments:

  1. So thankful for your good news! Glad you found a good dr, too! God is so good!

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  2. I'm so happy for you and Stephen and Baby S! Lots and lots of happy thoughts and prayers going your way!

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  3. So happy for you guys. Good luck with everything else and I will keep praying for you!

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  4. I feel so blessed to get to travel with you on this journey - even if it IS through the blogosphere world. We are on the same road with our first grandchild. Your baby and our's are due just about the same time and our son's girlfriend is high risk. She will continue to see the specialist as far as I know - she has an appointment on May 7. We are 99% sure of our little peanut's gender but I'm waiting for that day's ultrasound before I count on it!! Not going to go into specifics of why she is high risk - you don't need to hear it - but would you please keep our peanut in your prayers as well? So happy for you and S!!

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  5. That is one of my favorite old hymns. I, too, have vivid memories of my father singing it in his booming voice as a young child! I'm so glad that, despite the stress and anxiety you've been feeling, you've also been able to experience the presence and comfort of an awesome God! So glad to hear that baby S is thriving. We had a scare with our little guy early in our pregnancy and waiting on the lab results was SO hard. I know how you feel! Thank you for sharing this today, Leslie:)

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  6. So glad everything turned out ok! And that song reminds me of my church growing up, too! =)

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  7. So glad all is well.

    God is Good!

    xoxo

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  8. After reading this I immediately thought: God Good, all the time and all the time God is good.

    I'm glad everything is working out Leslie.

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  9. So relieved for you and Stephen! My deaf friend also received word yesterday after a two week wait that their baby is healthy. Like you, she can begin to enjoy and dream during the rest of her pregnancy. You deserve it!!! I'm so thrilled for you, Leslie!!!

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  10. Such great news! So happy that your prayers were answered and you both can rest easy. God is so good!

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  11. Yay! Rest easy, Mama! God is so good! :)

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  12. God is SO good! So happy to hear the good news. Cheers to your little family!

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  13. God is SO good! I'm so happy that baby S is healthy!

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  14. So ecstatic for you! I can't imagine that anxiety, but Go is so good and faithful! You go celebrate this great news... Spa day!

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  15. So happy for your good news! God is good! My husband and I had a similar situation in our pregnancy at 18 weeks and had to endure a week long wait. God was right there and our faith was strengthened in ways we never imagined. We now have a happy and healthy 2 year old! Continued prayers for you on this amazing journey!

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  16. Glad all is well and that baby S is healthy! Praising God that He answers prayers!

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  17. First of all, I love this song. These lyrics ring so true. And second, I am so glad to hear that your baby is healthy! Oh what a blessing!

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  18. I'm so happy for you and your healthy baby!

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  19. You are such an amazing woman! Your posts are always so inspirational and you are always such a positive person. I really admire you for that. Best wishes with your pregnancy! You are already such a cute mama!

    jadorelamodechic.blogspot.com

    xoxo,

    Natalie

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  20. I am so happy you have been given such great news!! We went through a couple of stressful situations with our baby, but he is a very happy (and chunky!!) 2 month old. :)

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  21. I always say that we are blessed in our circumstances. :) Praise the Lord for your great results!

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  22. These are the moments when we realize we are not alone. SO happy for a clean bill of health for the bean. I can't wait to hear gender ... and perhaps you'll drift away from fashion for a post or two to talk nursery?! :)

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  23. I'm so thankful you received good news! He is faithful!

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  24. What great news and a tremendous blessing. I recently became a mom myself and I truly believe parenthood is God's gift to us to help understand, just slightly, the depth of his love and mercy for us. I hope the rest of your pregnancy is filled to the brim with love and blessings.

    Brittany @ Everyday Thoughts

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  25. I'm so glad everything is okay! We have been going to an infertility specialist for the last year (we have to do IVF due to husband's issues/cystic fibrosis) so I definitely understand the uncertainty of testing and how that feels. It's HORRIBLE. I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

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