Here We Go!

Deep breath.It's February 8th.  Forty weeks & four days.  Too short.We're heading to the hospital this evening to begin to get settled in & start the induction process to meet our sweet boy.  This is the moment.We don't know how long our time will be until we meet him, and we don't know how long we'll have with him.  But we are continually reminding ourselves that his life is in God's hands, and we just keep surrendering to him, again and again.So many thoughts & prayers & emotions have completely encompassed our weekend.And joy.  To those of you who have been #celebratingjacob with us, we cannot say enough about the joy you have brought us.  Humbling, overwhelming, emotional... joy.  Thank you for celebrating our sweet son's life & giving us many smiles over some days that likely would not have been filled with them.  Truly, thank you.As we anticipate the next several days, we thought we would share a few prayer requests for you, our sweet family & friends.Please join us in praying for:

• Peace & calmness, as I labor and as John-Mark coaches and walks alongside me.  We are both quite nervous about everything, from the labor & delivery itself to everything that comes afterwards.  There are so many variables, so many possibilities, so many things that could happen, might happen, etc.  My mind is swirling with the millions of plans we've made (we've made about 15 different "Plan A's" depending on the scenarios!) and I just want to focus on bringing Jacob into the world, and not be distracted by the possibilities.  Pray for peace for both of our hearts.  Peace that surpasses all understanding [Philippians 4].
• A healthy labor & delivery.  For open handedness in whatever is coming our way, and for no complications.  After five long days of labor signs/symptoms, my body is exhausted.  Pray that I may find strength from the Lord & that He carries me through whichever situation we may find ourselves in.  "Father, with you all things are possible. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done" keeps coming to mind, echoing Jesus' prayer in the garden [Mark 14].
• Our families.  Hugs last a little longer these days.  We're all nervous & have been anxiously awaiting the day to meet our sweet boy.  We're excited to hold our sweet Jacob.  We're not sure what all to expect.  Pray for our families - they grieve multiple times with us and for us and for Jacob.  Pray for "the God of all comfort [...to] comfort us in all our affliction" and for "our hope [to be] unshaken" [2 Corinthians 1].
• Sweet Jacob.  Pray for his life, for his strength, as he may not be quite as eager to meet us, to leave his comfortable, safe, and cozy home.  Pray for his well-being, for time to get to know him, and ultimately, for God to protect him.  We don't know what that protection will look like - the timeline, the minutes we'll have with him - but pray that we are able to trust God with him, and for him to experience the greatest love he can on Earth before experiencing the True Love he'll meet in Heaven.
• God to be glorified in Jacob's life, however long that looks like.  As we've prayed all along, we desire first and foremost for God to be glorified & gazed upon in awe through Jacob's life.  Pray in the ups & downs, regardless of what happens, in the midst of joy & answered prayers, in the heartaches and the goodbyes, that God would be praised, evident, and made known.  There's no denying that He's carried us this far, and we know he'll continue to carry us.  Please pray with us that He would receive all glory and honor, and for eager anticipation for that one day, that "at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [Philippians 2]

Thank you for journeying with us this far.  We will share with you (with help from our friends) the joy of our son's birth & the unfolding nature of his story as we are able to.  Your prayers & love mean so much to us.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.  The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.  The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

- Psalm 16