The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. It’s hard to believe it’s been 11 days since Sophie was born and went to Jesus. One of the things we’ve reflected on and I’ve been wanting to start writing about is all the “Holy Moments” the Lord gave us over the weekend of Sophie’s birth. His presence covered that hospital and we want to share in snippets the ways the Lord showed up and was so intimate with us in the details of Sophie’s birth. Someone posted in a comment on one of my posts… “I don’t know much about faith in God, but I can see that through your faith you were able to do amazing things. I want to do amazing things too! I want to be able to have the courage to do what you have done, and the faith to help me do it. Your God is astounding, and I want to be a part of that.” Her phrase “Your God is astounding” has played over and over in my head as I’ve thought of how God has been so a part of the details of Sophie’s life. If there was ever something we want people to see through Sophie’s life it’s that… Our God is ASTOUNDING. In the next few posts we want to share some of the Holy Moments from Sophie’s birth that truly reminded us of just how astounding our God really is.
Kevin mentioned this in his previous blog, but one of the ways we saw the sweetness of the Lord was through the playlist we had made for Sophie. The hospital staff had an iPhone dock in the OR room and we were able to set my phone in it and just allow Sophie’s playlist to play throughout the C-section. The playlist was just on shuffle and I remember the first song that was playing as I walked into the OR and I heard one word from a song as Sophie was lifted out. The first song I heard was “Oceans-where feet may fail”.
This song has been significant to both Kevin and I and my sister recently posted on her Facebook this memory of me while I was in labor as that song was playing:
“I want to continually share stories of how God was glorified in Sophie’s life and how your prayers were/are being answered in amazing ways. One of my favorite memories is of how sweetly surrendered my sister was during labor and delivery. She was at the peak of her labor (27 hours in, contractions every 2-3 min, past complete exhaustion). This song comes on and Linds starts softly speaking the words to this song as it played in the room. It was so beautiful to watch my sister in the thick of labor continually seeking The Lord. ” To be honest I don’t really remember this, but I’m thankful my sister does and I’m thankful that the Lord’s presence was so near to me in the midst of great pain and He was turning my heart to Him even when I wasn’t quite aware of it!
Our pastor challenged us to take 8 minutes before the C-Section and just listen to that same song and meet with the Lord before we went in to meet Sophie. It was a sweet time for Kevin and I as we reflected on what God had called us to over the past many months and continued to surrender ourselves to whatever He would call us to in the coming hours as we met Sophie face to face. It is good for me to remember that even now.
As surgery began I recall NO music playing (though it was being played) until I heard the word “newborn” distinctly from a song right as I sensed the pressure of Sophie being pulled out of me. I couldn’t remember at the time what song it was from but somehow in that moment I sensed the Lord had orchestrated that moment, that song playing, and that He was so near to us as Sophie arrived. I didn’t hear any more of the song as I watched in amazement Sophie take her first breathes and cry her first cries. Later (after my loopiness from the meds began to wear off), I remembered the song and told Kevin what I had heard in the delivery room. We listened to the song and with tears in our eyes we were amazed at how the Lord had chosen this song for Sophie’s arrival. We later received video from our videographer and could hear just how perfectly timed this song was to Sophie’s arrival. Right before Sophie is born you hear these lyrics from the song “The Best is Yet to Come”…
“The night before the day breaks, the labor pain that brings in the newborn.”
Literally, right after we heard the phrase “newborn”, we heard our Dr. say “She’s here!”. We are amazed every time we watch it, that of all the songs playing the Lord chose that one to bring glory to Himself, remind us of His nearness, and remind us that the Best IS yet to Come!
And as Sophie and I were wheeled out of the OR, our friends and family in the waiting area could hear the song “Happy Day” playing… we love that! (This is also the only song that Kevin remembers hearing) In the midst of the sorrow we feel now, it has been sweet to remember just what a Happy Day that was and as the song declares, our happiness comes from the fact that Jesus has defeated death and Sophie is experiencing the complete victory Jesus has brought right now!
The Lord really does care about the details of our lives and in the midst of the many questions that we have, one thing He has made very obvious to us throughout all the Holy Moments we’ve experienced is that He was and is with us.
- A Time to be Silent and a Time to Speak - October 29, 2020
- Teaching Them to Hope, Birthday After Birthday. - January 15, 2020
- A Taste of Hope Fulfilled – Briella Dawn’s Birth Story - August 3, 2018
