The Lord Will Give You A Sign
Stories
Contents
"The Lord Will Give You A Sign" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * *
The Lord Will Give You A Sign
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 7:10-16
Nancy held her newborn baby in her arms. He was the most incredible thing she had ever seen in her life. She marvelled at the tiny hands and the small features of her son.
“He’s precious, isn’t he?” the nurse said as she entered the room.
“He’s a miracle,” Nancy said. “We waited so long for a baby and the pregnancy was rough. Sometimes I don’t believe that he’s real.”
“Yet there he is.”
“Yes.” Nancy took a deep breath. “He is.”
The nurse sat down in the chair across from her. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit sore and tired but the doctor said that’s normal.”
“It is,” the nurse said. “I wasn’t just talking about physically though. How do you feel about being a mother?”
“Excited. Exhausted.” Nancy thought for a moment. “A bit overwhelmed as well.”
“That sounds about right.” The nurse smiled at her. “I can remember when my daughter was born. It changed my life completely.”
“I can relate to that.” Nancy paused. “It is a new start, isn’t it?”
“I found it was. All life started again for me when I became a parent. Suddenly I had to be a better version of myself and all my faults, all my flaws, became obvious.”
“Really?”
“When your child starts picking up your bad habits it really is an eye opener,” the nurse said. “Yet as much as that may seem intimidating, don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t the greatest thing to happen to you. Your future has changed completely.”
“My family has changed too.”
“Absolutely. You have a new member.”
“Yes, we do.” Nancy looked down at her son. “More than that though my parents and Greg’s parents are like new people as well. They are so excited, so thrilled, to be grandparents. I mean we were always close, but we all seem to have a new energy and enthusiasm for life.”
“A child being born can do that.” The nurse got up. “Have you and Greg thought about a name?”
“We’re still considering a few options. We had some names picked out, but they don’t seem to fit for this little fellow.”
“Think about it some more. I’m sure the right name will come to you. You need anything?”
Nancy held her son and smiled. “I have everything I need.”
“You are our new beginning.” Nancy said softly to her son after the nurse was gone. “I want to make sure that you’re surrounded with love and people who will support you and care for you throughout your life because you are a blessing to us.”
“We were drifting you know.” Nancy looked at her son sleeping in her arms and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Your father and I love each other, but over the years we’ve had to deal with so much grief and sorrow and heartache that it has been rough. Our lives seemed to be filled with nothing but trouble. And then you showed up.”
“You are a Christmas gift to us.” Nancy tilted his head toward the decorations above the door and the small artificial Christmas tree in the window. “I know you may not appreciate so much having a birthday this close to December 25th, but you are the greatest thing to happen to us in our marriage and to me in my life. I think God heard our prayers and gave us a new life through you just like God heard the people and gave new life to all of us through Jesus.”
She kissed his forehead gently and looked out the window. She had never felt more at peace and more hopeful about the future than she did at that moment.
Greg came through the door and kissed her and the baby. “How are you both doing?”
“We’re doing just fine. I’ve been thinking about a name for our son.”
Greg tilted his head. “Oh?”
“I know that we were thinking of John after my grandfather or Lewis after yours and I still would like to honor them somehow.” She looked at the child in her arms. “Those names though don’t seem right.”
“They don’t really seem to capture what he means to our life or how he has changed everything, do they?” Greg said.
“That’s my thought, too.” Nancy took a deep breath. “I would like to name him Joshua because I think through him God is giving us a new life.”
Greg smiled. “I think that is the perfect name for him and the perfect name to remember that this blessing, this new life, and all that we have comes from God.”
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StoryShare, December 22, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"The Lord Will Give You A Sign" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * *
The Lord Will Give You A Sign
by Peter Andrew Smith
Isaiah 7:10-16
Nancy held her newborn baby in her arms. He was the most incredible thing she had ever seen in her life. She marvelled at the tiny hands and the small features of her son.
“He’s precious, isn’t he?” the nurse said as she entered the room.
“He’s a miracle,” Nancy said. “We waited so long for a baby and the pregnancy was rough. Sometimes I don’t believe that he’s real.”
“Yet there he is.”
“Yes.” Nancy took a deep breath. “He is.”
The nurse sat down in the chair across from her. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit sore and tired but the doctor said that’s normal.”
“It is,” the nurse said. “I wasn’t just talking about physically though. How do you feel about being a mother?”
“Excited. Exhausted.” Nancy thought for a moment. “A bit overwhelmed as well.”
“That sounds about right.” The nurse smiled at her. “I can remember when my daughter was born. It changed my life completely.”
“I can relate to that.” Nancy paused. “It is a new start, isn’t it?”
“I found it was. All life started again for me when I became a parent. Suddenly I had to be a better version of myself and all my faults, all my flaws, became obvious.”
“Really?”
“When your child starts picking up your bad habits it really is an eye opener,” the nurse said. “Yet as much as that may seem intimidating, don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t the greatest thing to happen to you. Your future has changed completely.”
“My family has changed too.”
“Absolutely. You have a new member.”
“Yes, we do.” Nancy looked down at her son. “More than that though my parents and Greg’s parents are like new people as well. They are so excited, so thrilled, to be grandparents. I mean we were always close, but we all seem to have a new energy and enthusiasm for life.”
“A child being born can do that.” The nurse got up. “Have you and Greg thought about a name?”
“We’re still considering a few options. We had some names picked out, but they don’t seem to fit for this little fellow.”
“Think about it some more. I’m sure the right name will come to you. You need anything?”
Nancy held her son and smiled. “I have everything I need.”
“You are our new beginning.” Nancy said softly to her son after the nurse was gone. “I want to make sure that you’re surrounded with love and people who will support you and care for you throughout your life because you are a blessing to us.”
“We were drifting you know.” Nancy looked at her son sleeping in her arms and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Your father and I love each other, but over the years we’ve had to deal with so much grief and sorrow and heartache that it has been rough. Our lives seemed to be filled with nothing but trouble. And then you showed up.”
“You are a Christmas gift to us.” Nancy tilted his head toward the decorations above the door and the small artificial Christmas tree in the window. “I know you may not appreciate so much having a birthday this close to December 25th, but you are the greatest thing to happen to us in our marriage and to me in my life. I think God heard our prayers and gave us a new life through you just like God heard the people and gave new life to all of us through Jesus.”
She kissed his forehead gently and looked out the window. She had never felt more at peace and more hopeful about the future than she did at that moment.
Greg came through the door and kissed her and the baby. “How are you both doing?”
“We’re doing just fine. I’ve been thinking about a name for our son.”
Greg tilted his head. “Oh?”
“I know that we were thinking of John after my grandfather or Lewis after yours and I still would like to honor them somehow.” She looked at the child in her arms. “Those names though don’t seem right.”
“They don’t really seem to capture what he means to our life or how he has changed everything, do they?” Greg said.
“That’s my thought, too.” Nancy took a deep breath. “I would like to name him Joshua because I think through him God is giving us a new life.”
Greg smiled. “I think that is the perfect name for him and the perfect name to remember that this blessing, this new life, and all that we have comes from God.”
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 22, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
