Every Good and Perfect Gift...

Sometimes, life throws you an unexpected curve ball. Mine came a few weeks ago while Nathan was in Vegas on a three week TDY. My back was really hurting...it was way out of alignment. I went to the doctor on base, and she told me I needed to see a chiropractor, but she would prescribe some muscle relaxers for me. OK...I went and put the prescription in at the drug store and then started to find a chiropractor who could see me that day, because I was in a lot of pain. Luckily, I found a good one. She wanted to take x-rays of my back...I wasn't so sure. You know, they make you fill out all of this paperwork, and one of the questions is, "Could you be pregnant?" Well, technically, I could have been, but I had no symptoms, and I really didn't think I was. But, we didn't do them anyway. Now, that my brain was thinking about it, when I picked up my prescription, I picked up a home pregnancy test and thought, "I'll take it just to confirm that I'm not pregnant." Well, SURPRISE...it was positive. Already six to seven weeks along and I had not a clue, other than back pain, I felt fine.

Of course, right before Nathan left I had told him that I really didn't want to be pregnant anytime soon, because I have been doing so well with my weight loss (I had lost almost 40 pounds!) and life for us was just really going well. We had a fun summer planned with a vacation to the beach after Nathan got back from his TDY. You know, I was just being selfish, not wanting to have another child right now.

But, around the same time that Nathan left on TDY, our music minister asked me to sing the solo for the song "I AM" by Mark Shultz. The third verse was written for me at this time. It reads:

I AM the Spirit deep inside you
I AM the Word upon your heart
I AM the One who even knew you
Before your birth, before you were

While Nathan was gone, and before I even knew I was expecting our fourth child, the Lord began to prepare my heart. Of course I had to practice that song, and I had to sing those words over and over. And it was like every time, the Lord was saying to me, "Beth, I am in control and whenever you have another child, it is going to be OK, because it is MY plan for you, and for the next blessing in your life." Well, I am glad He prepared my heart for the shock of that day when all alone, with Nathan out of town, I found out I was pregnant.

And, you know, the worst part was, I had to keep that secret to myself for two whole days until I finally got to talk to Nathan on the phone and tell him the news. That was torture. But, needless to say, we are THRILLED about this blessing that the Lord is entrusting us with.

So, bring on the sleepless nights, the nauseousness, the weight gain, etc, etc, that comes with the territory. I am ready for this blessing! As of today, I am almost ten weeks along, and the baby is due Dec. 15th. Nathan was supposed to be deployed at that time, but he was able to change the dates so that he will go in August and September instead.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17