Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
~ James 1:2-6 [emphasis mine]
There have been a lot of questions recently regarding what people learned in 2012. Well, I have something I learned over the course of 2011-2012. I just really hope I'm done learning it!
God has given me the opportunity over the course of the past two years to learn how to really trust in Him. Early in 2011 my husband and I found out we were pregnant. We had recently talked about having a baby, but, like most first-time parents, had no idea what that would truly entail. When I found out I was pregnant, my husband and I were terrified. Lesson #1: Rely on God for peace. I can't say I learned this lesson overnight. It took a long time. Longer than I'm willing to admit. Something I learned about surrenduring to God, though, is that it has nothing to do with being comfortable. It has nothing to do with feeling good. It has to do with feeling the fear and knowing exactly what to do with it: giving it over to God. And every time that fear crawls back, you turn to God.
When I had my first OBGYN appointment, I really had to trust in God. If you didn't already know this about me, I hate the doctor - - and avoid going like the plague. Well, that became difficult to do once I became pregnant. Lesson #2: Rely on God for guidance. I walked into that office, my hands shaking with fear. The same fear that I had to surrender to God, I found myself relearning my first lesson while I followed where He led me - to the greatest OBGYN I could have asked for.
There was a lot of re-learning those first two lessons throughout my pregnancy. When I went into labor, though, I had to learn a new aspect of trusting in God. Lesson #3: Rely on God for strength. Labor began at midnight on January 21, 2012. I had no idea what a long day that would be. I'll tell you my labor story in another post. Bottom line: I was tired. I don't do well on less than 9 hours of sleep, let alone when I'm trying to push a person through my body. Exhaustion swept over me multiple times that day, but the Lord gave me the strength to perservere through it all. Almost 22 hours later, my little man was born. He is the greatest gift God could have given me in return for learning my lessons.
But the teaching wasn't nearly over. Throughout 2012 I was tested in many ways as a new mother. As I embarked on this new journey of motherhood I continued to learn these same lessons over and over again. Endless trips to the pediatrician tested how well I had learned my lesson of relying on God for peace. How I was to make decisions as a new mother tested how- well I had learned my lesson of relying on God for guidance. And late-night feedings tested how well I learned my lesson of relying on God for strength.
If I learned one lesson in 2012, it was this: Rely on God for everything. Still learning with each new day what this truly means, and hoping that the next lesson will be easier!
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