"I Know The Plans I Have For You"

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

As my wife and I prepare for the arrival of our son, Alexander Joseph, this coming March, this particular Scripture becomes more and more alive in me!

On a purely natural level, Meg and I are preparing a nursery. We're getting our home "baby-ready". We're setting up a registry of necessities that we're going to need (mostly with the help of seasoned parenting pros who know we don't need everything that BABIES-R-US offers to poor, unsuspecting rookie-parents...LOL!).

Baby Lex is just in his womb, developing, yet completely unaware of the preparations being made for him. He has yet to comprehend all that Mom and Dad are doing to get ready for him. (notice how I put "Mom" first... Ladies, trust me, I already know who the kids cling to more, and I am fully prepared to accept my secondary role... HaHa!)

Lex doesn't even know how our lives are already being rearranged to make way for his arrival. He doesn't have the slightest idea of the sacrifices being made to give him a future in this World...

...But, we know...

Meg and I know how the road is being paved. We see the bigger picture that Lex cannot possibly comprehend. We want the best for our son. We want to give him a hope, a future. We have plans: not to harm our baby boy, but to prosper him in every way imaginable: physically, emotionally, naturally and, most importantly, spiritually.

Our God is the same way with us! How unimaginable to us our His incredible plans. His ways are so much higher than our ways, His thoughts so much higher than our thoughts. He is incomprehensible in His vast goodness and His marvellous grace.

In this life on this Earth, (or as I like to call it, our "Womb of Eternity"), the Lord is continually developing us, molding us, aligning our spiritual genetic code, fashioning the DNA of our faith. He is planning the ultimate destiny for us. Through every struggle, every tough stage of development, every heartache, every spiritual growth spurt, we are being formed and fashioned into the vessels of His glory.

Wow! What an amazing thing to think, just as I am hoping the best for our son, God is hoping the best for us!

Lex, your mom and I know the plans we have for you...
...And Lord, thank you for giving us a hope and a future.