A Verse, A Vision, & An Encouragement

As Mother's Day came and went, I had 2 things on my heart to share that God had placed directly into my spirit to uplift and guide me.

#1. Psalm 127: 4-5 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Now we might gather from this word "born" that they must be living and breathing children. But you know what, my Ruthie was born for God, directly into God's kingdom. She is born, dwelling in eternal life, might I add better life than I have right now. The verse never says anything about where your quiver should be located: heaven or earth, but rather we are simply blessed for having it be full. If you have a child with Jesus, if you have multiple children with Jesus, consider your quiver full and claim your blessing.

#2 Through a Bible study I am doing on Jesus I was brought to Luke chapter 1. In this chapter, we find out that Elizabeth (Mary's cousin) is pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary is met by Gabriel and told that the Holy Spirit will create life in her womb, she was to name Him Jesus, the One and Only. Mary, humbled, accepts God's will for her life, and runs off to meet Elizabeth who is much her elder and 6 months pregnant (by the way Elizabeth was considered "barren"). These 2 awesome stories of conception unite in an awesome moment where Mary (early in pregnancy) meets Elizabeth (3rd trimester). At that moment, something extraordinary happens. Lets look at verse 39-45:

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

I get so much out of these verses. It got me wondering about the interaction between my sweet Ruthie and Jesus. This verse gave me this awesome vision that I would like to share with you. This is so extra Biblical it is not even funny, and more of what God brought to my mind as I read this verse, and pondered on what it means for our infants in womb to meet Jesus face to face.

I distinctly remember Ruthie's last movement. I was laying down for my second kick count (I had felt nothing all morning), and I was extremely tired. While praying for healing, restoration and pretty much anything else that came to mind, I got pretty drowsy. Instantly while dozing off I woke to this harsh movement in my stomach (a leap if you will) and then nothing. I knew it was time to get to the hospital, and upon arriving my worst fear was confirmed...Ruthie had no heart rate. I have always thought back to that movement and wondered what happened or what it meant. I had read this story about Mary numerous times, I knew John had leaped in Elizabeth's womb, but never really put them together. Upon a closer look, I paralleled my last feeling of Ruthie with what Elizabeth felt. It sure did feel like Ruthie tried to leap out of my womb...

Instant peace.

Months of thinking about that moment, to find my story amazingly depicted in the life of Elizabeth. This got my mind turning...and if you know me...when my mind starts turning on the Word, it takes a long time to stop. And then a vision of the Holy Spirit hovering upon Ruthie, conversing with her in the womb informing her of what her life was to be. "Ruthie, death and sin have entered into this world, it is not God's doing, but in your case He must allow it." I envisioned her knowing exactly who the Holy Spirit was, Him being there with her the entire pregnancy...they were friends. I then began to see Him instructing her on His reasons why...dare I say benefits... of God calling her to the Kingdom much sooner than anyone expected. I imagined He had a list: "Mommy and Daddy will know Jesus better. Your Grandparents will know Jesus better. Others you will only know in Heaven will come to know Jesus through your story. Your story coupled with Jesus' blood will bring your siblings to salvation." Then because Jesus is so amazing, and so merciful, and full of free will, I saw the Holy Spirit say, "Ruthie, you have free will...will you lay your life down for your friends and family?"

Communication with my infant, spirit to spirit, I believe she went willingly for the benefit of the entire world. In a heart for Jesus that only a kid can have, and with a faith and love that surpasses that of most adults, children are willing to often give so much for a God that died for them. How do I know this about Ruthie? Because if John the Baptist can sense the presence of his Lord from one womb to another, how much more could Ruthie sense Jesus when He is in my own heart and spirit? In an act of total submission to the will of God, Ruthie made her way into the arms of Jesus face to face, but not without letting me know she had met Him...with a stiff kick and "leap".

I will only know if this is true once I make my way to Heaven. I have always felt (and it is confirmed in scripture) that children have a special relationship with Jesus. We may think that infants have no idea who their maker is, and I think that is garbage. John knew Jesus, these children are knit together in our wombs. Knit is a very intimate word here. It requires the maker to be active and present in each step...never dropping the knitting needles. A scarf without a knitter is nothing but a ball of yarn. These infants and children know their maker, and each time they experience Him they leap in our wombs. Maybe that is why they kick so much? Maybe they are leaping far beyond what we can feel before 20 weeks? Maybe all that early leaping causes nausea? Who knows... My mind could churn all day with the awesomeness and grace that is God's alone. I wonder...after talking with some other friends, how many Mom's who have birthed stillborn after the time they could feel movement can remember the last and final leap of their child. Rest in the fact that it is in then that they met their Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith, face to face.

Today Ruthie is 5 months, though I have no idea how old she is in Heaven. These 5 months have been a special and complex dance of emotions. Some days are characterized by pain, sorrow, sadness, and grief, while others are delightfully victorious, pleasant, funny, and joyful. The good by far outweighs the bad, and here is why:

*My God is for me so NO ONE can be against me & My cup runneth over.

*Greater is He who is in me then he who is in the world, I am blessed but not cursed, formed for greatness, MORE than a conqueror, the head and not the tail, given the authority to trample snakes and scorpions, and promised Life and LIFE ABUNDANTLY.

*He hears me when I call, He is the Prince of Peace, the Comforter of my Soul, My strong tower, My very present help in times of trouble, My Rock, My Redeemer, My Salvation, My Cornerstone, The King of kings and Lord of lords.

*God is my almighty, my strength & shield, the alpha and omega, the living water, the bread of life, the giver of every good and perfect gift, my healer, my hope, my Abba Father, and THE ONLY God worthy of Worship.

If all this is true (and it is) why do we let life stop us from being all we are created to be? Why do we let the "setbacks" of life drag us down, when the reality is that God has promised to work that setback for our good? Why do we give the enemy that added foothold to bring us down when we have been give power over him that can crush him just as Jesus crushed the snake under his heel? Why do we lose faith and anger in God during these times, when in reality all God wants to do is save us from the situation by infusing the power that raised Christ from the dead into our bodies? I encourage you, all of you experiencing pain to PRAISE GOD. I know from experience that the only way to get pulled from the pit of despair is to praise God as you fall in. If you do, you will never hit the bottom, our rescuer will swoop in and save you. However, God will never force us to praise Him. It would be so easy if He did, but that would not be free will. He loves us too much to force us. Praise in the storm is a choice, a hard choice, but a choice nonetheless. And it is not until we learn to praise Him through the storm that His rain of blessing can come in.

Reader, I love you with all my heart, and I hope that in some way you have been blessed as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling. I am no one special, just a girl filled with the goodness of Jesus. I am scared, hurt, and wounded just like you, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world!