What a challenge...

As a parent one of the things I struggle with most is stopping to take time to pray over my children. I know I should and I often do, but sometimes it is more of a rushed check it off my to-do list attitude than a Godly seeking guidance for my life and theirs. I am sure anyone with small children can relate that in the changing diapers, cleaning dishes, disciplining, playing and feeding of children it can get so easy to lose sight of their eternal fate and just try to survive the day. One thing that Lydia is teaching me is that time is fleeting. I know she is our last baby, and I think that just makes me want to soak it up even more so than I did with Anderson. She is a very physical reminder that we only get one chance to raise these perfect little blessings, only one chance to mold them.


One of the things I love about blogs is that I can learn so much from other moms out there. One I have been reading for quite sometime is Bring the Rain. This blog is both heartbreaking and refreshing at the same time. This couple have twins and a third child and then discovered they were pregnant again. When they went in for their ultrasound they discovered several fatal complications and prepared to grieve for their fourth child, Audrey Caroline. Angie decided to carry her until God took her, refusing to terminate the pregnancy. To give you an idea about how incredibly strong in her faith she is...her first and only words after receiving the news in the ultrasound room were "I think that my Jesus is the same as he was before I walked into this room". Wow! I don't know that my attitude would be the same. She has pored out her heart and soul on the blog since then and allowed thousands to walk through her grief with her.


Jeff thinks I am crazy for reading these blogs...I have also followed a few blogs of trisomy 18 parents who lost their newborns. I don't know what the attraction is, but I can't stop reading them. Even when I was pregnant with Lydia, I couldn't stop and often sat in front of the screen squalling like a blubbering baby. All I could say to him and anyone else wondering why I would read such heartbreaking stories that certainly hit a little to close to home during this season of my life is this...why wouldn't I read them? This is real life for a great many people. We are so blessed to have two happy and healthy children. I find it a wonderful thing to read about these families as a pertinent reminder that Anderson's refusal to mind that particular day or Lydia's nap strike are little slices of life that these families would kill for. How lucky am I to shuffle through the mundane everyday? What a blessing that I have never had to face such tragic circumstances. To sum it up I would say that it gives me a little perspective on the hard days.

And occasionally I get to see prayers answered. To see a wonderful example of this check out MckMamma's Blog. She was told similar news at her 20 week ultrasound with her son Stellan. They said he would never make it to term, and if he did he would die immediately. He had a severely enlarged heart, kidney problems and a host of other abnormalities. Instead of believing the Doctors she hit her knees and prayed. Thousands joined her. See her blog sidebar where she shares images that readers who prayed for him sent in with Stellan's name arranged in creative ways...everything from a garden hose spelling his name in a backyard to a group of African women holding up his name in their village. Towards the end of her pregnancy the Doctors started seeing these insurmountable abnormalities reverse themselves. We all celebrated as Stellan was born two and a half weeks ago... COMPLETELY HEALED AND NORMAL!! He is perfect in every way! Can you imagine??

SO... anyway... the original thought behind this post that has now taken on a life of it's own was to point you to the blog Bring the Rain where Angie has organized a very neat way to pray for your children throughout their day. It is a challenge hat I am certain I will fail to do everyday, but the beauty is in the trying isn't it?? Click the link above for details on the 7 times 7 challenge. So neat!! I Love it!!