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Every birth story is God's story

This morning at Mom's Group, we were reminded of the birth stories of key women of the bible. Each of these women waited upon God to bear a child.
1. Sarah, mother of Isaac
2. Hannah, mother of Samuel
3. Rebekah, mother of Jacob
4. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist
5. Samson's mother

All these mothers probably gained a conviction during their long, barren wait, that the child they conceived truly came from God and ought to live for God's purposes. We see how God receives all the glory for each of these birth stories. The more powerful thing is that God used this period of waiting to do groundwork in their lives, to ultimately surrender their children to God's work.

For Abraham and Sarah, it took years of receiving God's promises and of wandering to give birth to the promised offspring Isaac. Abraham became so intimate with God, that when God called him to sacrifice his one and only promised son, he was willing.

For Hannah, she dedicated her son to the Lord's service. After being weaned, Samuel lived in the house of God. Can you imagine sending your child at the age of one or two to learn under Ted at SJCAC? That takes some major faith and surrender.
I was reminded of the promises God gave us when I was pregnant with Abigail and Isabel. Thus, we gave them these names.

Abigail means "joy of the Father". We claimed Luke 1:14,15 for her, "He (referring to John the Baptist) will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." We see already that so many have rejoiced in Abigail's birth and we claim the promise that she will be great in God's sight.

Isabel means "consecrated to God." We prayed differently for her and we see that she is quite different from Abigail. She's not as bubbly or outgoing as Abigail, but has this intensity, but pleasant spirit about her. We have surrendered Isabel and Abigail to be used by God. We receive by faith that Isabel would walk a consecrated life, seeking purity and holiness, so that she can be an empty vessel for the Lord.

The true test for us as parents will come when we release them to college, to marriage and to their future callings in life. We're glad God is giving us at least another 15 years to prepare ourselves to physically release our children. We didn't have to wait a long time to bear children, but we surrender these years ahead to joyfully release our children for God's work, wherever God may take them.

Posted by Ted on December 9, 2005 10:44 AM