Lying down next to my newborn nephew, keeping my eyes on him whilst feeling melancholic and with my thoughts miles away. At a slight noise, the little one scrunches his face and puckeres his mouth, in readiness for a wail. My hands reach out to quickly comfort and pat him back to sleep. Watching his adorable mashimaro face slowly relaxing into slumber, hearing his soft gentle breathing, sniffing his baby smell, my eyes are suddenly open again to how beautiful he is. This little baby, who has caused so much worry and concern, a particularly difficult pregnancy for my sister and his emergancy coming into the world, I can finally feast my eyes on. It suddenly dawns on me that after all our prayers for his safe delivery, I have forgotten to say a prayer of thanksgiving. And so I say a quick prayer doing just that and realise in the process, that I have much to be grateful for. My heart bubbling with newfound appreciation, I grab my sister's bible and begin to thumb out some of my favourite well known verses;
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you", declares the Lord
Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you", declares the Lord
I have read somewhere that the verses from Jeremiah have been all too often taken out of context. That it is not supposed to mean that the Lord will take away your suffering and answer immediately when you call to Him, but that He will make you stronger through adversities. I believe that this particular adversity that I am facing, will be a catalyst for an overdue change to come. It is really high time for me to take all this in stride, accept what I do have..the good and the bad, climb out of my comfort zone and change what I do not like without hesitation. And so I shall trust that everything happened for a reason. All within His plans.
