On Choosing the Name Joseph

Adam and I prayed for a baby longer than we expected. My body didn't adjust to being off of birth control very well and what we had planned to be a couple of months turned into over a year. During this time, we prayed. I worked to trust in God's faithfulness, His goodness, His timing. On July 7, 2014 I changed my prayer. I had been praying for a baby, but on this day I began praying for a son. I felt strongly that this is what God was leading me to do. He promised me a child, a son, and I believed He would be faithful to this promise. On that same day, I read a blog post entitled "Let Him Add - God's Word for the Barren Womb." In the post, the author talked about Rachel's prayer for a child. After many years, God answered and Rachel named her son "Joseph," meaning "Let Him add" or "Jehovah will increase." Rachel's faith journey didn't end when God granted her request - she asked for more! And that was my prayer as well - that God would add to our family and that HE would increase in our lives. God did increase through our time of waiting. He increased in my daily walk as He became even more real to me, in my joy as I learned that HE is "the good thing" (Psalm 34:10b), and in my trust as He patiently turned my doubt and fear into confidence and faith. God also answered my prayer for a son; we are expecting our son any day now! In naming our son "Joseph," I pray that God will increase in our son's life as HE has increased in my life. In naming our son "Joseph," I am also reminded that the journey doesn't end here, that we should always pray for more of God in our lives. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness, His gift of a son, and His increase - both past and future.

The Work God Has Given Me

Every Sunday, we say a prayer after Holy Communion. We thank God for feeding us spiritually and for reminding us of our place in His kingdom. Then we pray the following, "And now, Father, send us out into the world to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."

This part of the prayer reminds me, among other things, that the work I do is given by God. My primary purpose during the Monday through Friday routine is not to get through my to-do list, but to love God and to serve Him. It has reminded me that my career is not really a career at all; it's my mission for God.

What struck me this Sunday is that, for the first time, the work God has given me for this week is not teaching... For four years, teaching has been my priority, my main focus, the place I spend the most energy. In many ways, teaching has been my identity. But this week, the students are traveling on academic trips and I'm 37 weeks pregnant; I'm working in the front office to help cover for people who are out. So the work God has given me for this week is to sit behind a desk (something I'm certainly not used to!). Next week is our school's Spring break and I will not be returning to teaching after Spring break.

So my next work is to continue preparing and waiting for our baby; then I'll begin the work of being a Mother. To be honest, I'm intimidated, perhaps even scared, of this next work, this work of being a Mother. What if I'm not "good at it" (whatever that means)? What if I don't enjoy it or if it's not fulfilling in the same way that teaching has been? These questions and others have crossed my mind at different points in my pregnancy, but as I prayed on Sunday, I felt hope. I felt encouraged. This work of being a Mother is given to me by God. This child is a gift given to me by God. And for these reasons, I'm reminded that my purpose in the work of being a Mother is the same as it has been in teaching. My purpose, my drive, is to love and serve God as a faithful witness of Christ our Lord.

Will I be "good at it"? Will I enjoy it? I don't know those answers, but I do know that it's the work God has given me. And that's enough.