At 12.30am on Saturday 22nd, our little boy, Elijah George Bream, entered the world. So I thought it'd be interesting to write a little something from three different perspectives over the next few days.
The first perspective is my wife's...
There's something that must be totally amazing about carrying a child inside you and then holding that same person in your arms after birth.
But then there's the labour; a fairly sizeable hurdle in between both those stages.
Words really cannot fully describe it.
I knew my wife had a firm faith in God prior to this weekend's action, but when you see someone on all fours bellowing out to God to help her and reciting scripture from memory, you know that person has been doing some preparation in the build-up.
Having prayed into particular scriptures and memorised verses that she knew would help her in that time of need, it was awe-inspiring to witness God stand up to those promises - especially through the gritted teeth and bleary eyes of prayer in those last couple of hours. With all the tension and anguish heavily etched across her face, she certainly needed a Saviour who would stand firm for her.
And He did.
Verses like:
'For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,
love and self-discipline.' (2 Tim 1v7)
'There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear...' (1 John
4 v18)
...and
'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for
the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.' (Joshua 1 v9)
When your wife falls pregnant, it's very easy to feel smug and macho - like you're 'The Man'! When you're totally helpless and pretty much just a spectator in that delivery room 9 months later, you soon realise that you're not quite the alpha male you thought you were!! So it was awesome to see my wife very vocally telling her God how much she needed HIM.
He was so constant and gracious through the whole rollercoaster. And the little man He created in the first place made her soon worship Him in a way she never has done before.
No other rock could or would do such a thing.
She (and we!) could not have gotten through that period without the grace of God that was all over the situation and His timings and guidance were about as perfect as the little guy he gave us at the end.
There's a new kinda love in our household now - and we're thanking God for every little bit of it!!!
