Since this article is coming out on Christmas Eve, I thought I would share with you something the Lord taught me during the Christmas season a few years ago. Full disclosure, this is a excerpt from my book, The Day Between: A Memoir of Miracles. Honestly, I never thought I’d have a chance to write a book- Especially one so personal. The book tells of my experience being pregnant with twin girls who were diagnoised with twin to twin transfusion. We ended up having to fight for their lives, including an emergency surgery at 20 weeks pregnant. We then mourn the loss of one daughter, all while praying for a miracle for the other. Its a pretty crazy tale filled with miracles and lessons for the Lord that changed our lives forever. Now, I won’t spoil it all here, but I wanted to set up this section I am sharing today. It comes from the end of our story when we were waiting for the arrival of our surviving daughter, Tabitha, hoping beyond hope that she would be healthy:
A Lesson from the Past
“By the beginning of November, Dr. Allison and Dr. Rivera were incredibly optimistic about Tabitha’s life and began throwing around numbers like 38 weeks as a possible end goal for the pregnancy. Those weeks—during which I would have to remain close to the hospital in Houston—would keep me away from my family through Thanksgiving, my twenty-ninth birthday, Christmas, and the New Year. Milestones marked away from my home and family. The separation was wearing, and I had become a hot mess of ungratefulness. As I was preparing for the Christmas season, I read a scripture that spoke directly to me.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your
prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall call his name John.” Luke 1:13 (NIV)
The words, “your prayer has been heard,” jumped out from the page at me. Luke also says that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were “very old.” No doubt they had hoped and prayed for a child, but perhaps hope had faded as their hair grew gray and their joints stiffened.
We don’t know if Zechariah and Elizabeth had given up, but the Lord had not forgotten. To Him, that prayer was as fresh as the day it was first offered. I found such comfort in this reminder: even when I lack the faith to keep praying, or to believe in God’s ability to answer, or when my heart is too grieved and hurt to put my longings into words, God has not forgotten my prayers or the desires of my heart. He hears them, and He never forgets. When I think of the suffering this world holds in unspeakably large quantities, I must remember the Lord’s promises stand firm. Our prayers are heard.” ~ The Day Between: A Memoir of Miracles
A Blessing for the Future
So, as we head into the holiday season, my dear Into The Harvest friends, I want to remind you that if you are still hoping in a promise that has not yet been fulfilled, may this be the encouragement you need:
These verses are scrawled over the pages of my journal from that season that I wrote about above…
For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37 (ESV)
He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more
death or sorrow nor crying nor pain. All these things are gone forever.
Rev. 21:14 (TLB)
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be
made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places
made smooth. Isaiah 40:4 (NIV)
We trust in a Faithful Father.
Merry Christmas from the ITH Team
