Nurture (verb) 1. To give tender care and protection; 2. To encourage to grow, develop, thrive and be successful.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord…” Psalm 127:3 (AMP)
Being a mother has always been a dream and desire of mine – one that has been at the center of my heart for as long as I can remember. And though it has been a dream, it has also been a fear for me too. Being a mother is a huge responsibility.
When I was younger, I dreamt of becoming a teacher so I could care for children who were not my own, especially children who did not have someone at home to love them. As I got older, I began mentoring teenage girls. After Ray and I got married, we began joyfully helping to care for our friends’ children. With each year that passes, my desire to be a mother has never ceased to pound with every beat of my heart.
And while dreaming of one day being a mother, I also had other dreams – dreams of a fabulous marriage, dreams of a great job, dreams of going to graduate school, dreams of serving God with all I have… With each of these have come great sacrifices of time. And each of them are being fulfilled in my life at this very moment!
Becoming a parent has been one of the many things that Ray and I have diligently and faithfully given to God, trusting that when it is time, He will lead us into that chapter of our lives. After many discussions and prayers, we both felt excited about waiting and moving towards expanding our family in the latter part of 2010. I wanted to be in my last semester of grad school before leaping into to motherhood.
I believe that God is a humorous God – I think He watches us all as we “make our plans”… giggling because only He knows what is really going to happen.
On the afternoon of Friday, November 20th, I suddenly realized that I had yet to start my period, in fact, it seemed that I was at least 2 weeks late on starting. (I haven’t always been the greatest at tracking this…). So, with Ray on his 18-hour flight home from 10 days in Pakistan, I thought “I guess I’ll go waste $25 on some sticks that I can pee on, just to have it confirmed that I am not pregnant”. I was on birth control and missing my period was nothing new to me. So a quick stop at CVS and homeward bound I was. I did my thing and waited the long 3 minutes for the results to show. Not really believing the results, I chugged a bottle of water and tried again. After another 3 minutes, same results came.
$25 dollars and 2 pregnancy sticks later the results came in…
I WAS PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!
I seriously sat on the bathroom floor, tears rolling down my face, starring at those two sticks… realizing that the word “NOT” was not going to appear in front of the word “PREGNANT”.
With mixed emotions, the realization that Ray and I were going to be parents hit me. I was so happy, yet so terrified.
After almost a month of knowing and one doctors appointment later (this will come in a later post), Ray and I have had the opportunity to tell our families and slowly begin telling our friends of our exciting news.
We are beyond excited about becoming parents and it’s been just as exciting to see the reactions of our friends and families.
Psalm 127:3 (Amp) says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord…” This has been a passage that has been on my heart the last few days. Other versions say that children are a “gift” from the Lord. We truly have been given a gift – a true descendant of our heavenly father. The thought that God has entrusted Ray and I to care for and love this baby, that He has handpicked and designed this child before it was in my womb is an overwhelming feeling that brings me such great joy.
Ray and I want to thank every one of you who are a part of our lives and who are standing with us believing great and marvelous things for our baby.
Thank you for standing along side of us as we, together, nurture this child…this gift, from the Lord…
Ray, Summer & Baby
