Jubilee

I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for praying for my family, and I'd like to introduce you to our "jubilee"- our Shout of Joy to the Lord!

I can't describe the emotion going into this morning- mostly because I couldn't feel much besides an incredible peace wrapped around the Hubs and I as we rested in knowing there were so many praying for our little one.  I truly cannot describe how humbled we are by how many of you have been praying for us and have let us know.  Thank you thank you thank you!

All my heart could utter was a "please please please" as we waited to find our baby on the screen, and almost right away we saw that little heart continuing to thump away! I'm telling you: this is nothing short of a miracle.  My body has been doing exactly what my doctor had warned me was headed towards miscarriage, and after what this pregnancy has looked like this past week, that heart should not have been beating.  But prayer changes things, and as the Hubs said, God must have some big plans for this "tough little buster". =)

One of my dear friends wrote the sweetest note saying she has been in constant prayer for our little one and that the Lord kept laying the term "jubilee" on her heart.  Do you know what "jubilee" means?  Well, lots.  But do you know what my favorite translation is?

Jubilee: Shout for joy

Are you kidding me?!  How incredibly perfect.

And as I dug into the term's history (thank you, Wikipedia) this brought buckets and buckets of tears:

"In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, the Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest."

Oh, how we have seen His mercy today!

After the ultrasound tech left, I turned to the Hubs and said, "I just can't believe it. We don't deserve to get to keep this little one and there he is, snuggled away, heart beating beautifully.  So many people don't get to see a baby's heart beating on that screen- and there's no good reason why we got to. It's just grace.  That's all there is to it- it's just grace."

Grace.  Given far more than we need.  Heaps and heaps beyond what we deserve.  It's all grace, and we are shouting for joy today!

Remember how I said I go to the Psalms when I run out of words?  Well, I was sobbing through the Psalms last night and guess which Psalm I continued to read over and over and over?

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
 Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

As I sat here and made the connection between "jubilee" and the Psalm I clung to last night as I prayed for our sweet babe? Speechless.

Entering his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise today because the LORD is good. How touched we would be if you would continue to pray for our tough little guy.  This baby is beating the odds, and we would love to have you keep the prayers coming for his health and development.  We know that prayer changes things- that prayer moves the heart of God, and we would be so blessed by your continuing prayers. We want this baby to be our shout for joy for years and years and years. Thank you so much for standing in prayer with us as we root for this little one and continue to trust in God's timing, goodness, and plan, no matter what tomorrow holds.

Thank you, God, for today.

We have been so blessed by you all.  Thank you for getting on your knees and asking for grace- if we could hug each and every one of you, we would! It is my deepest hope that you know Jesus like we do- that you know the Jesus who sits with you in doctor's offices and holds your heart through the good news and the bad- the Jesus who brings together bands of people from across the country to pray for a little life in the womb only 8 weeks old- the Jesus who lavishes grace on us despite all the reasons we don't deserve it.  All is grace, and I pray you know His grace today, deep into the crevices of your heart as we have. 

And because this song encompasses so much of what we're feeling today: