Even before I got pregnant I knew that we have a lot to be grateful for, but since getting pregnant I am just so much more aware of all the things I’m grateful for, and I’m not lying to you, but my prayer life has changed to mostly praising God and thanking Him for all the blessings we receive from Him.
Every single day I thank God for our pregnancy and our baby. I cannot tell you how much I love being pregnant, and to feel our little boy kick, how much I love him already and how much I’m looking forward to meeting him. Last week at the water birth class there was one lady that said she absolutely hates being pregnant and she is so glad it’s almost over. I can honestly say that I don’t have that problem at all; as a matter of fact it is difficult for me to understand it, because it’s been such a wonderful time for me. I am so grateful that I’m not in her shoes…
Yes, I’ve had most of the symptoms and sometimes I didn’t feel well, or sometimes I have pain, but it doesn’t affect my joy. I still remember the constant nausea and fatigue of the first trimester, and I remember I wasn’t able to do much during that time, but I would willingly do it again and again, just for the joy of being pregnant. I know I’m going to miss being pregnant once our baby is born, but we will definitely try again!
I am also so grateful for the wonderful husband that I have. He is so attentive, and loving and interested in what’s going on in my body and with our baby, and he just loves to have his hands on my baby bump to feel our darling little boy move and kick.
I just know he will be an awesome, wonderful dad. A lot of the time I think he will be a better dad than I could even dream to be a mom. He just loves our nieces and nephews and he takes time to play with them every time we see them, and they absolutely adore him! I just cannot imagine how he will be with our boy – if he is so good with children that isn’t his, how wouldn’t he be with his own! I know he will not be a distant dad, or someone who’s job is more important than his kids, or more interested in his social life than his kids, I know he will make our little one the most important part of his life.
Then most importantly I am so grateful to God, for being there and helping me, guiding me, comforting me and blessing us so richly! We have had some really incredibly difficult years behind us and only when I turned to God, did it feel like I was able to cope, to overcome, to get hope and finally to have our dreams realized. And even now He is still there giving me strength, health and joy, even though we are still going through a difficult time.
The other day I realized that this has been the best and simultaneously the worst year ever. The best because I got pregnant with a healthy baby and we will give birth to him, but the worst because I had to lose my mom. But thanks to our Almighty Lord He is giving me strength and He is helping me to not just concentrate on the sadness, but still experience and enjoy all the wonderful stages of this pregnancy.
I am also incredibly grateful of how much I’ve grown spiritually, and that my idea, or concept of being a child of God, a Christian has changed. I see God so very different than even a year ago, I know Him so much better – I know He loves me unconditionally, that even if I disappoint Him, His love for me won’t change, and that He doesn’t want to punish me for every wrong thing I do – it’s not necessary anymore because the punishment has already been borne by Jesus. I have no more guilt and condemnation hanging over me, making me feel less of a Christian, or a bad person, because I’ve been made righteous by Jesus, and yes, I know I don’t deserve it, but it’s already been done, so I can just as well accept it! God wants me to receive it! And the same goes for everything else that’s been covered by the atonement. Like health and healing, deliverance from evil and prosperity.
The way I feel from day to day has changed – from being sad, and feeling lonely and that nobody understand my pain, to being happy, and joyous and expecting just good things to happen from now on. I cannot tell you what a burden has been lifted from me. God has changed me so much and I am so grateful! When I think of all these blessings, I just feel like bursting out in tears of happiness (and I often do)…
Beautiful post Marion! It is strange that we accept and expect bad things to happen, but we don’t expect blessings and good things and when they do happen you have difficulty accepting it çause somewhere deep down you think you are not worthy. Enjoy your blessings you do deserve it!
Thanks for your wonderful post. You expressed so well what your heart is feeling and I can really understand with you. It is certainly hard year for you losing mum and yet being blessed with baby. I am sure even words are hard to describe your feelings. The devil works hard against those whose hearts are for God. You are such a threat to him so know that you are doing a great job shaking his kingdom for Jesus. Keep it up!
Hello!
I would like to comment about salvation and forgiveness in order to be helpful!! The comment is lengthy in order to make it understandable.
(To differentiate,)
This is what the Jewish Messiah must have taught about ‘salvation’ – if he was a legitimate prophet according to Deuteronomy 13:1-6:
As stipulated in Dt. 6:4-9,11:13-21 one is required to keep all of the directives of Torâh′ to one’s utmost—viz., “with all one’s heart, psyche and might [lit. “very”]“—”for the purpose of extending your days and the days of your children… like the days of the heavens above the earth” (i.e., eternal life). According to the Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel chapter 18 et.al, the Creator confer His atonement in His loving kindness to those and only those turning away from their Torah [Books of Moses]-transgressions and (re)turning to non-selectively observance of the commandments in the books of Moses. Everyone has transgressed the commandments in the books of Moses and it is possible to obtain forgiveness from the Creator in His loving kindness when living in the above way. The Creator has promised this in His Bible – which is in Hebrew – and He doesn’t lie.
Thus, the way of ‘salvation’ in NT, referred to in your post, contradicts the books of Moses and what the Jewish first century Messiah called Y’hoshua taught. I am a former Christian and understand that after having studied Torah in Hebrew according to etymology. The Creator wants to forgive, but ONLY as long as we do our best to keep His Will.
Doing your utmost to follow the directives of Torah – the books of Moses – will lead you into an immensely meaningful relationship with the Creator. I have been doing this for more than four years and it has led me into a great relationship with the Creator.
All the best!
Anders Branderud
Hi Anders!
Thank you for your comment, and as I value every comment and opinion I am publishing this although I have to say respectfully that I cannot agree with you on every aspect.
The Law of Moses is important in the way that it acts like a mirror to us – by reading it we can see what is wrong in our lives and so that we can confess our sins. But I can never deny my Saviour, Jesus Christ and through His sacrifices we have received a New Covenant with God that over rules the old Covenant with Abraham, and I know Jesus paid the full price and carried my punishment. By just living under the law I would deny His sacrifice, and I know that salvation is not only based on keeping the law, but I have been saved by God’s Grace and through my faith in Him.
See Galatians 3: “Faith or Observance of the Law
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing— if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? 6 Consider Abraham: He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. 11 Clearly no-one is justified before God by the law, because, The righteous will live by faith. 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, The man who does these things will live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no-one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say and to seeds, meaning many people, but and to your seed, meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Sons of God
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
I can honestly say I have a deep and meaningful relationship with God, and He has been incredibly faithful and good to us, and I am so grateful for that, and that was what I tried to convey in this post.
We have been blessed so richly and we have even experienced an incredible miracle, that is the fact that I got pregnant naturally after 11.5 years of trying with no success, and even my doctor agreed that it was a miracle that I got pregnant, and he is not even a Christian. We had tried everything medically possible until we ran out of funds to go further and then I had to believe God will make me pregnant naturally, and after 7 months of actively believing for a miracle, we received it. We did not relax or forget about it, or applied for adoption, since some people believe that helps sometimes to get pregnant, as a matter of fact my husband thought I was getting obsessed, so it was the complete opposite. This has been the proof to me that Jesus does exist, that He has paid for all my transgressions and inequities and that healing is part of the price that Jesus paid for us. This blog was started before I even knew what all of God’s Will and promises are, and I think it is proof of our miracle, because it documents our whole journey towards receiving it.
Marion – I have ALWAYS said that pregnancy is the most awesome, miraculous gift of all time, if you sit down and really, really think about it. How priviledged women are to receive a gift such as this. Enjoy it!! x
I love this post. Our Father has ONLY the best for you Marion.
xxx