Be Still and Know the He is God

She's here! Elisabeth Anna was born two Fridays ago, and she's just perfect. Her birth was beautiful. With every pain, I searched for any tense muscle - even just a raised eyebrow - and let it go. I was so relaxed as Tyler prayed by the bed, I was SLEEPING between the most intense contractions! Jesus filled the room and the doctor and nurses truly watched in awe! They asked us a zillion questions about the Lord. I can't do it justice in words, but God was glorified in that place without a doubt.

Then we came home. We had some adjusting to do - like every other time we've come home with a newborn. This time it was quite different though. Two days after we got home from the hospital, we received a purchase offer on our furnished home. Soooo? Now what? They want everything. We have another year to live here in New York. I don't question God's faithfulness to provide. It just doesn't make any earthly sense. But the eternal? Oh yes... the eternal... listen to this Providence:

The man who wants to buy the house was explaining that his sister-in-law (maybe she's his wife's sister?), her husband, and five children are missionaries to Bosnia. The people they were serving with in Bosnia both just passed away leaving their eight children behind. The youngest is two years old I believe. The sister-in-law and husband adopted them all and now have a family with 13 children! They are moving back to the States... with nothing. Whatever we leave behind is going straight to this missionary family. The man told Tyler, "I'm not a religious man, but this just seems right."

So, the Lord has challenged our hearts. Are we willing to give up all this "stuff" before we actually need to for His sake? To be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole in the American culture of plenty and comfort? To be perfectly honest, I've even said it right out loud, "I'm fine with living in a one-bedroom home and wash laundry by hand and own just three outfits in Uganda. But when I'm in America, I want to live like an American."

This whole thought process led me straight to the little-kid-stool in front of the sink in the bathroom. This is my prayer closet. I've had many conversations with the Lord on that little bathroom stool. I cried to Jesus and told Him that I have a 4 day old baby, and the kids are crazy trying to learn this new Mommy who is so emotional, and He's selling my house, and everything I own, and it's just too much to handle! Know what He told me? Relax with every contraction. Release every bit of tension to Him. He is about to do something beautiful. If I fought the pains in childbirth - as I've done before - it would have been awful. Same thing here. It's not comfortable. But this is necessary in order to bring about His perfect plan. Okay. I can handle that. His still small Voice calms the storm with this raging frantic heart time and time again.