"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
A couple of years after we married, my husband and I thought it would be an ideal time to start a family, and were delighted when we found we were expecting. Within a few weeks, however, it became clear that I was having a miscarriage. An emotionally difficult time followed, which demanded much spiritual growth, particularly when my husband lost his job three months later.
We continued to nurture this idea of expanding our concept of family. I worked with several practitioners over the next few years, one of whom was my former Sunday School teacher when I had been at University. She lovingly maintained that our little one was ‘waiting in the wings’ and we didn’t need to fear. We turned to Adam Dickey’s wonderful article ‘God’s law of adjustment’, as well as studying Genesis in the Bible and again in Science and Health.
A year after this experience, a promotion came up at work which would have helped to meet our financial needs, as my husband was still out of work. I had temporarily held this quite senior position for a year some time before, and felt I was in a strong position. I reasoned that if I wasn’t meant to be a mum, maybe this was what I was meant to do – though I still deeply yearned to be a mum. When I didn’t get the job, I was bitterly disappointed and it was very difficult not to feel rejected and dejected. As always, however, God’s plan was much better.
My husband had willingly picked up some temporary work during this period, even though he was over-qualified for it. We then became greatly involved with an international group for young Christian Scientists, which was very dear to our hearts, and also found ourselves on numerous church committees. I applied for another temporary position at work, and this time I was successful. As Head of Year, I was able to help and support so many in need and really felt I’d found my niche. I had to laugh, as we’d been earnestly praying for one child, and here I was with responsibility for 93! All this was gentle and encouraging proof that God was indeed looking after us.
Our prayers for a family of our own continued, and I began to realize that I had to release my human desire, and let God’s plan unfold. This wasn’t easy but it brought a gentling of thought. We were learning to demonstrate fathering and mothering qualities whatever situation we were in, which included teaching in Sunday School.
Our prayers continued unabated, and my husband began to have much more promising job interviews. About a month later we were overjoyed to find that I was expecting, and a very harmonious nine months of increased spiritual growth followed.
Two months before the little one was due, my husband was interviewed by a company who specialised in his degree area. They felt he was perfect for the job in many ways, except for a lack of managerial experience; however, if he would consider a slight reduction in salary, they would put a training plan in place to enable him to gain the necessary skills. He began this wonderful job 10 weeks before our dear little boy arrived, who continues to bless us, and encourage spiritual growth in so many ways.
What good occurs when we let God direct our lives!