rest, roosters, & rejoicing

Thoughts from Mom/Grandma W. -
After Ivory’s early birth, I had sensed the need to encourage Hannah and Grant to think in terms of possibly a week or two hospital stay instead of a day or two.  I was thankful God honored this request in granting them the gift of Genesis 1 – to help them get through the first week and look forward to what God might have in mind in the days ahead.  I arrived here the end of the first week and it became clear that Ivory needed more time in the hospital.  I have witnessed that this entire week has been a “day of rest” for Grant and Hannah and Ivory – resting in God’s promises that He will work in Ivory His perfect work and in His perfect time.  Waiting is so hard, especially when it isn’t really what we usually have in mind, but when we learn to rest in Him, then we are at peace.  I knew God had worked this in Hannah yesterday, when after having a conversation with the doctor about Ivory’s progress, she said something like this… “He basically told me it is up to us when we want to take her home as her oxygen levels are so much better than yesterday – but I don’t know as she’s really quite ready yet and maybe I need to tell myself we need to give it a couple more days and nights.”  They were at peace with waiting – what a blessing from God – only He can do this!

On our many trips to and from the hospital in Zamora, I’ve had a chance to see the Mexican landscape.  One thing that really stood out to me was the huge number of unfinished buildings. Being the dreamer that I am, I mentioned to Hannah how sad it was as it seemed these people must have had some kind of vision or dream in mind and then weren’t able to see it to come to fulfillment.  She and Grant shared with me that this is very common in Mexico – to start something and then quit when you run out of money.  So you wait until you have more money to do more work.  Talk about waiting! I questioned myself if I would be willing to build a house or a business like that. Live in it without a roof or with just a few walls or without windows or…  then it occurred to me that must be how God looks at my life…a work in progress… building and waiting for me to grow … working on me a little more… more teaching and building and waiting… until we are complete in Him in heaven.

True physical rest has been a little challenging for me this week as the roosters seem to start cockadoodledooing quite early. The first night I thought it must’ve been all night, but this morning I realized it didn’t start until about 4am.  As I lay in bed listening to this, I thought how these roosters really illustrate the verse in Psalms that says, “This is the day that the Lord hath made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  Then when one rooster starts “rejoicing,” all the roosters in town “rejoice.”  What a blessing.  Let’s rejoice together that we can rest in God’s promises that He will work and fulfill in us His perfect work.