Time for a breather

I wrote a Facebook note nine years ago that my father-in-law shared early this week. I totally forgot what it was all about so I decided to read it! It was humbling to be reminded of this season of life. Looking back allows us to see God’s faithfulness especially during those moments when we were clueless about what we were doing or where we were headed. So, I thought of sharing this with you to encourage you to press on despite the changes or challenges happening in your life today.  

July 22, 2010

Time for a breather

“My life is literally moving at the speed of light. 🙂 From being single to married to becoming a mom (in six months or so)—all of these happened to me in less than a year! Talk about changes and shifting seasons of life! 🙂 Writing about this is probably the “breather” I need so I can pause and appreciate this fast-paced journey. 🙂

Roughly about the same time last year, I said my first “yes” to my husband Omar. He officially became my boyfriend back then. 🙂 Four months into the relationship, he proposed marriage to me and I gave him my second “yes.” He then officially became my fiancé. 🙂

Six months after, I declared an eternity-bound “yes” before God, my family, and friends to my husband Omar—the best partner in life I could ever have. 🙂 He is now officially my hubby over the past two months and most definitely over the next century (or more). 🙂

A few weeks after we got married, I found out that I was pregnant! You see, I’m still an apprentice on “becoming a wife 101” while taking up an elective course on “becoming a home maker 101.” I always thought that the two courses are the same but they’re actually not. They are complementary though. 🙂 A woman needs to learn both.

Learning about the pregnancy meant that I had to add another course to my growing list—“becoming a mom 101.” 🙂 After receiving the wonderful news, I’ve been over the moon for weeks, literally feeling that I’m floating. I’ve been ecstatic about the life inside me while determining if the dish I’m cooking is too sour or too sweet.

I’ve been looking at pregnancy books while mulling on how our next month’s budget would to look like. I’ve been downloading classical songs for baby while making sure that when hubby comes home he finds a welcoming ambiance conducive to resting and relaxing after a long day from work. I’ve been balancing my work schedule to align with my home maker schedule without disrupting hubby’s work schedule.

I’ve been praying for a lot of things, hoping that God doesn’t get confused with the things I really need and want. 🙂 But now, as things start to fall slowly into its proper places I can see more clearly how the hand of God has been faithfully guiding us in all these.

From the very start, He was faithful in providing for all our needs—not only financially but also emotionally with the full enthusiastic support of our family and friends; spiritually with the wise counsel we’ve received, countless lessons we’ve learned, and daily miracles we’ve witnessed as God worked in our relationship; and even physically that despite the seemingly stressful events in our lives our health was not affected and my Lupus did not relapse nor did I experience a minor flare. Everything was truly under God’s control and sovereign hand. 🙂

Yesterday, we heard the loud and strong heartbeat of our baby for the first time. 🙂 It was an overwhelming feeling to know and be assured that God has truly given life to our little angel. Each heartbeat was like God’s heartbeat—active, steady, secure—it was as if God was telling me loudly that He is with me every step of the way, that His love is the stronghold I can cling to, and that His unchanging character is the one I can depend on while everything else around me changes. 🙂

I am grateful and humbled at how God is allowing me to discover that embracing change is one of the best ways for me to experience His unchanging goodness and faithfulness. Perhaps the reason why I had that “floating” feeling (instead of feeling dizzy, cranky, and jaded with all the adjustments I was going through) was because He was just carrying me through the motions of the new things in my life. God was helping me adjust one step at a time, one task at a time, one change at a time. 🙂

I can picture Him patiently smiling and encouraging me when I slightly burned my hubby’s shirt, placed a wrong container in the oven toaster, experimented with different ingredients, and did accidental miscalculations on other things. It made my heart even melt when I saw the same patient smile and heard tons of encouragement from my husband who assured me that he will be with me as we grow and learn things together. 🙂 His appreciation of my daily little improvements was God’s way of giving me a pat on the back and a wink of approval, making me realize that change was never really a bad thing after all. 🙂

With that, I want to end with David’s wonderful prayer of praise in 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 as my prayer of thanksgiving 🙂

1 Chronicles 29:10-20
David’s Prayer

10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.

11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the LORD your God.” So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.

:)”

The same God who was with me nine years ago is still the same faithful God who is with me today. He never changes, His love and faithfulness endures forever. I am beyond grateful that no matter how many changes or challenges we may go through in this life, there is an unchanging God who will always hold us steady and secure. 🙂