Friday, December 05, 2008
Is It Time For You to Induce?
Milan Ford
At some point today (possibly even as you read these words), my wife and I will be delivering our third child, and our first baby boy; and I am pretty excited about it.
As a 32 year-old husband and father of two lovely daughters (ages 3 and 2), I can't even express how happy I am to finally have another man in the house with me. Being tossed back and forth between helping my girls comb through Dora the Explorer's hair and enduring yet another episode of HGTV with my wife, can drive even the most dedicated believer to pure insanity!
So needless to say...I am pretty excited.
Geeked. Stoked. Amped. Hyped. Pumped Up. And most importantly...READY.
But as hard as this maybe for you to believe, there is actually something (or should I say someone) for whom I also very excited about. Can you guess who?
...Sorry...I can't hold the suspense any longer!!
I am excited...
...about YOU!
Now I know that sounds extremely corny, so please allow me to explain.
This past Monday (December 2nd), my wife and I went in for another ultrasound. Our due date was not for a few more weeks, but our doctor had advised us to come in for an examination.
The reason: our soon-to-be-born baby boy was already...full term.
And as the ultrasound soon would indicate, our soon-to-be-born baby was not only full term, but he was now tipping the scale at (hold on to your seat mothers)...8lbs. and 4oz!
Yep. That's exactly what we said: Wow!
Our doctor informed us that if we still wanted to pursue a vaginal delivery, which is what we had with our other two children, and the procedure that my wife still prefers, then it would probably not be wise for us to wait any longer.
The doctor's words of advice to us: "It's time to induce."
So why does that make me excited about YOU?
I'm glad you asked.
Later on that evening, as we considered what the doctor had recommended, my wife and I discussed how our situation was much like many believers in the Body of Christ today.
Here we are, drawing to the end of another year, and many of us are still carrying around things that God had placed within us that have yet, much to our dismay, come to pass.
For some, it may be the promise of a new job or the start of a new relationship. While for others, it may be the desire for better health or a stronger church. Perhaps a new business venture.
Whatever the case may be, there are many of us as believers who still remain pregnant with a hope that what God promised you earlier this year will still come to pass.
Yet, here we are. It is December. And for some of you, nothing has happened yet.
Well, I have a question for you today. This is a question that you may have to wrestle with for a little while. We did as a family...and now perhaps it is your turn.
Is it time... for you to induce your labor?
Are you still waiting on God to do something for you this year that perhaps He has already given you the ability to do yourself? Are you still waiting for things to just happen naturally in your life?
Do you realize that where you are in your life right now perhaps has already come full term? How much longer do you want waddle around in pain and pity? How much bigger are you going to allow this baby you're carrying inside of you to get before you decide to get up and activate your faith?
Now don't get me wrong. It is perfectly okay to wait if you would like to. I know God is a faithful doctor that is more than willing to perform a C-section and deliver the baby you've been carrying if it is necessary for Him to do so.
Sometimes, for the health of the baby and vision He provides us, there are times when he has to do just that. But that's exactly why it is time for you to examine where you are today.
Is it time... for you to induce your labor? With a little less than 4 weeks left in this year, it may be one of the most important decisions you will need to take to God today in prayer.
Believe me when I tell you, we have.
And that's why...even as you read this...
It's A Boy!!
Milan Ford has been a leader (and survivor) of ministry within the local church for over 12 years. A lover of Red Vines Licorice and all things pointing north, Milan's first book, 83 Things I Wish The Black Church Would Stop Doing, is scheduled for release February 2009. You can find Milan blogging at ThePewView.com
2 comments:
Me for one, have a few things I haven't been able to birth and I tend to think that it isnt the right time. If Im not eating, drinking and sleeping it, then its not ready. For instance, I really like to be out there, be seen in ministry...yea I know, I know. But used to believe that the bigger the event, the bigger the impact and I've learned that it's just not true, not true at all. As a Compassion Advocate, I have learned that "changing the world one child at a time" makes just as big an impact as a huge event. I have learned that because of one sponsorship of a child in a third world country, many family members come to Christ. Now, that's big...at least in God's eyes. And that's all I need to be interested in...in what God thinks, not human beings.
About 4-5 years ago, God allowed me to to do this big event at Florida Bible Church, here in Pembroke Pines for youth. Let me tell you, it was awesome and NO, not because I put it together and am a control freak (LOL), but because God did it through me as a control freak that I am to make sure everything goes without any glitches and guess what? That's exactly how it went. BUT, it was also the last time he allowed me to do it. I had tried to duplicate that event but the churches just didnt have the time to speak with me. As sad as that is, it is true....but that's another story for another day.
As a children's advocate, I haven't been able to take Compassion Int'l to the level I would like to see myself do, once again because the churches wont give me the time of day, so...I do what I can in the meantime on a small scale as somewhat unsatisfying as it is for me.
I also have the desire to be married. Well, that aint going to well either, I might add. Its only been 15-16-17 (yes, I have lost count) that I have been divorced and one would think that by this time God would have sent "the one". Yea, well WRONG!
Oh yea, can't forget the ministry website. LOL....another thing that's been in the works for about 7-8 years. Can never seem to get it out there. Something always happens.
So, how does one "induce" or give birth to these things? Wouldn't it be forced which in that case isnt a God thing? Shouldnt we be waiting PATIENTLY (not a nice word!!)until God gives the "go ahead"?
Im still trying to figure it all out here.
Hey Magda -
thx for the posting love. and believe me - i understand your difficulty.
God is indeed a trip sometimes. There are times where we are to wait on him, and there are times when He is in fact...waiting on us.
He is a lover of being pursued. And through both trial and error, I have learned to embrace and love pursuing Him as well.
Even through disapointment.
Have a great friend in Nashville (Anne Jackson) who is an advocate for Compassion Intl as well.
She is an awesome person - may want to glean from her from time to time. Maybe there is something the two of you can do one day.
Her website is: flowerdust.net
God bless.
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