I’ve been convicted lately.
I’m about 32 weeks pregnant now and couldn’t be more thankful that the Lord has blessed us with another baby, but I am going to be honest, being pregnant isn’t easy. And it doesn’t get easier the older and more experienced you are, either. LOL
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So here is the deal. For years I have thought about how women use PMS as an excuse to be grumpy, unkind, and even mean; and it has ALWAYS bothered me.
Recently I was confronted regarding my attitude while being pregnant. Now, I do think that being in my 3rd trimester while on a 3-month RV trip with 7 kids in extreme heat and humidity and approximately 900 sq. feet should offer me some GRACE and understanding, BUT truthfully, as I contemplate and meditate on Scripture I am super convicted.
God doesn’t give a free-pass to disobey His holy word to anyone, not the crippled, lame, afflicted, suffering, or those going through trials. Yes, our God is gracious and full of mercy and He knows our pain! BUT, we should still TRY to apply His word to our lives.
Verses like Eph. 4:32 & Heb. 12:14 are just a few that come to mind. Then there is the fact that our Savior Himself endured great pain on the cross willingly and didn’t complain! Aren’t we supposed to follow HIS example?
His word teaches that we should rejoice in our suffering and count them all joy.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4
This physically hard time IS DOING A REALLY GOOD WORK IN US! It’s preparing us with MORE PATIENCE and I don’t know about you, but I can use as much patience as I can get in this mothering gig. LACKING NOTHING?! Really! Doesn’t Scripture have a way of changing our perspective of what we are walking through?
I know it’s pretty hard to do, but the reality is that we live in a fallen world, where there is pain, and disease, but IF we have become afflicted we have an opportunity to LIVE IN FREEDOM from the temptation of sin and can choose joy.
We can choose to be a light and glorify God. We can choose humility and ask for forgiveness and model for our children a DIFFERENT way than that of the world. We can also call upon the Father in prayer and experience both healing and/or strength to cope!
I wrote about this in a recent Instagram post and was surprised by how many women haven’t thought of this before. We need to teach and model a new way for women of God. Not perfection, but honest humility and effort towards pursuing holiness and living out the Word of God we preach with our lives.
Are you with me?
God’s word doesn’t say, “Love your neighbor as yourself, oh except you who are on your period or pregnant.” In fact, the Bible promises blessing upon blessing IF WE OBEY HIS WORD!
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” Heb. 12:14
I want to see the Lord! Do you? Being pregnant with my 9th baby, I KNOW without a doubt that I will experience the power of God and His presence and be BLESSED in BIRTH and POSTPARTUM IF I CHOOSE TO CONTINUE IN “faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.” 1 Timothy 2:15
PLEASE go look up this verse: 1 Timothy 2:15 and see God’s promise!
I want to leave you with another verse and promise in Scripture I have been meditating on:
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins… For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.” 2 Peter 5-12, NKJV
It’s this verse, where I am motivated to also remind you of these things.
We can live by the power of Christ, who raised from the dead, every single day, even those days when we are exhausted, burnt out, in pain, and can barely stand. We can produce fruit.
Lastly, I hope you have subscribed to our family vlog as we are traveling across the US in our RV! Fun adventures and a great way to get ideas for your own family trip!
Here is our latest video!
