25 Days: Updates & Requests

75 days ago I wrote this post, inviting anyone and everyone to join me in praying for the next 100 days. The day I wrote it was 100 days until Jacob's due date.  Even in the last 75 days, God has done beautiful things - in Jacob's life, in my life, in John-Mark's life & through Jacob in others' lives.  I know that some have been praying specifically for things in their own lives or for their friends & families... things that seem so big & impossible yet that they want to trust God for.  And many of you have been praying for us - and we are so grateful.  Honestly, prayers are what we most need, and God has answered so many of them for us.Jacob is growing & is healthy! What a praise.  We have seen God grow and develop some areas that we had concerns about, and he's even progressing to where he should be as he's getting ready to be born, which helps me out : ) Praise God.John-Mark & I have grown in our marriage.  We have not figured it all out by any means (laugh with me, anyone who has been married for longer than 24 hours!), but in God's grace, we've grown closer together & been fighting for each other and on behalf of each other through this.  We know that there is more to come, more to battle through together, but we also know that God has been so kind to us.  We are so grateful.God has carried us this far; He's carried our families this far.  We were able to celebrate all of "the holidays" together and with Jacob.  We were even able to attend our annual winter conference with our students & fellow Cru staff in our region.  We have connected with people, had a baby shower, rested & had fun, and learned about God's character and been given room to wrestle and grieve.  We've only been increasingly more blessed by Noah's Children & our medical team in the past few months as things have gotten closer. What a gift it's been.The truth is, today there are 25 days left until Jacob's due date, which means sometimes between now and a month from now, we'll meet our son [insert all the emotions].  We have no reason to think he'll come early, but we're in the "final countdown" so to speak.  [Actually, many of our doctors think he'll come late!] With just over three weeks left until the date that's been seared in my mind since this summer, reality has hit more.So tonight, as we have 25ish days until Jacob's birthday, I wanted to ask for prayer.  We know that this is not the only thing going on in the world - and many of you have more devastating things going on in your lives or in the lives of others.  But we also know that God works through prayer, and we long to see His will done in our lives.  We cannot get through the next few weeks without Him and without our community.  So here we are, 25(ish) days away from meeting our sweet Jacob, and we're asking for prayer.If you'd like, here are some things we'd love prayer for as we prepare for Jacob's birthday (in no particular order!).  Please pray for:

• A healthy last few weeks of pregnancy for me as my body gets increasingly more exhausted [my tummy only gets bigger!]
• A healthy and strong last few weeks of growth & development for Jacob!
• Labor to begin naturally
• A healthy labor & delivery! We know that God knows the exact minute and hour Jacob will be born & how; we pray for His will to be done in this even in the midst of fears
• Sweet time with our son, and our families, on his birthday - that we would get to hear him cry, watch him breathe, and spend sweet, precious time enjoying all that we can with him
• The day after, the weeks after, the months after...
• Energy, rest, & grace; with each day, it gets harder and harder. [We are exhausted, quite honestly, in every sense of the word.]
• Final appointments, meetings, etc. the next few weeks - there are a lot! Pray for God to make himself known through us, that we would be bold to share about him with nurses & doctors we encounter, and that He would give us exactly what we need
• Wisdom & soft hearts to the Holy Spirit to guide us as we make final decisions, prepare for the semester, and anticipate all that is to come
• Family & friends to get to be there for his birth [no sickness or weather issues or traveling woes, please!]
• Our love for each other to grow and for a ridiculous amount of God's grace as we continue to learn how to process, grieve, and celebrate together
• God to be glorified in Jacob's life! We long and desire for God to be glorified in every day & every minute that we have left with him - no matter how much time that will be. We know that God can heal him, and we know that he may bring him Home sooner than we hope; we long for His will to be done and for him to be glorified regardless. That's our biggest prayer.  God, be glorified in & through Jacob & us.  We are so honored to be chosen to be his parents.  May we repeatedly point to you.

Thank you for praying for us over the last several months and for praying for us as we continue to walk this road.  I can't say it enough: we are so blessed by you.PS: We'd love to share how God has been answering your prayers! If you have any to share with us, we'd love to know and celebrate with you. Let us know here!