The Rest of the Story

Psalms 139:13-16 (MSG)
Oh, yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God--you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration--what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

Recently, I was asked to give a devotion at a bridal shower. I am a preparer with lots of notes, scripture references, examples and so forth. I had been working on this particular devotion for over a week. Like always, I prayed on the way up to the church and was trying to review what I had studied, but for some reason nothing was coming...I started to panic! I prayed again, asking God to give me a clear mind, empty me and fill me with you is what I asked. Sounds simple...well it wasn't!

My drive to the church is approximately 20 minutes, but it seemed like a drive you take with a 5 year old going to Disney World for the first time...IT WAS FOREVER! I continued to pray and rehearse...still nothing. I pulled into the church parking lot and I prayed again, in a begging manner; "GOD PLEASE HELP ME"! One thought kept coming up every time I would finish praying. "Tell her about the story I wrote for her". Are you kidding me! I just used those verses at a baby shower, I couldn't use them again.

I apologized to the group for what might take place, but I knew in my heart of hearts I needed to do what God had commanded me to do. I explained my ride to the church, sitting in the car arguing with God and how the whole devotion had completely changed in a matter of 10 minutes and I wasn't even sure what I was going to say. Let me tell you, I love how God uses this stubborn, broken vessel for His glory!

Psalms 139:13-18

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. 

ALL THE DAYS ORDAINED FOR ME WERE WRITTEN IN YOUR BOOK BEFORE ONE OF THEM CAME TO BE. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand, When I awake, I am still with you."

For many of us, our parents started praying for our mates before we were even born. And before conception, God already had our story written. He knew the color of our hair, the color of our eyes, what our personality would be, what our career would be, who our friends would be and yes, he already had that special mate written in our book. BUT, I must say...because of the free will that He has given us, we choose whether or not to step into our story. For many, we have detoured from that precious story, we have added pages that He did not intend on, but because of His mercy and grace, He allows us...even with added pages to step back into the book.

Grace was the bride we were celebrating with on this particular night. I have known Grace forever, and I can still see her running around church in her wrangler's and boots! Although I did not get the opportunity to teach her in youth, I was blessed to watch her grow up loving God with all of her heart. As I viewed from a slight distance, Grace developed and began to live out her own faith. You see she had parents that trusted God with everything...when times were good and when times were bad. They lived their faith out in front of Grace and she took notice!

Even before Grace was conceived, God knew she would go to school for agriculture and that she would meet the man of her dreams...Jacob. God had already written this marriage in Grace's Book, and because of her faithfulness to Him, she stepped right into the pages of the her Cinderella story! I cannot wait to see "The Rest of the Story"!

I know this is long, but would you allow me to provide one more way that God has used this scripture in my life? Recently, I share this same verse with an abortion-minded client. She cried, I cried...she left our center that day as an "intends to carry"client...I rejoiced! A few weeks went by, she did not show up for her next appointment, we tried calling, but because of life choices and situations we were unable to get in contact with her. Prayers were lifted up, she called the center on a Thursday claiming that she needed to go through with an abortion. She stated, "I cannot care for this child. I do not have a place to lay my head, much less this baby." She was told that there were other options, please come into the center so we can discuss them with you and do an ultrasound to confirm that there is a viable pregnancy. She didn't come. Prayers were lifted up, this time through a massive prayer text! It took two weeks, but she called the center wanting to hear the other options, she knew she could not go through with an abortion. Today she is on her way to making an adoption plan! She is not only stepping into the pages of this baby's God story, but for two parents that she doesn't know. When asked what changed her mind, she said one of the things she took from our very first meeting to confirm pregnancy was the verse Psalms 139:16. She stated, "I have marked that verse in the Bible that you guys gave me and I read it every day. It gives me hope and strength when I am having a bad day." In Spring....I hope to bring you "The Rest of the Story"!