Hope Restored

Oh how marvelously we have been blessed! We got a postive pregnancy test today! We're still in shock, but it is slowly beginning to sink in. The Lord is so very great. He knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me infertility. I'd like to tell you a story...

When I was still in college, the local library was selling some books for a quarter. I spotted a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting and pounced on it, since I knew I'd want it someday. Hey, when the price is right... Then came the surgeries and the scar tissue and physical impossibility of conception and the moral impossibility of IVF. So I gave away my book because I was tired of seeing its mocking face on my shelf. It was the physical acknowledgement of the death of a well-cherished hope.

While I was going through all the pain of barrenness, the Lord led me to the book of Isaiah with its bitter condemnation and beautifully sweet redemption. There are so many scriptures that are precious to me in that book. They were water in the wilderness to this desolate soul. My blog title was taken from one of those verses. Isaiah 35:1 was also a precious verse because it reminded me of the marvelous spiritual restoration that God has given and is giving me: The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Well, today was a day of restoration. Hopes long dead sprang back to life. And can you imagine what God sent me today? 15 minutes after coming in to work, Dr. Beisner brings me a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting! Then Kilby walked in and gave me roses! The Lord used that to remind me of Isaiah 35:1 and how amazingly and graciously He has fulfilled that for me, both spirtually and physically. God took my hopes of children away from me and has given them back, more precious than ever. How kind He is to His children!

PS: A most heart-felt thanks to Mrs. Beisner-- the means of God's sweet gifts to me today!