God Moments in the Valley
Frankly, there was another post planned for this week, but these sweet God moments from the past week simply had to be shared first. To set the scene, things are rough for my little family right now. We are walking through a valley, so these God moments are most welcome and certainly needed. They are a tender reminder that God hears our prayers and walks alongside us in all our circumstances.
God moment number one: As a first-time mom, I have quickly become familiar with the beautiful, sometimes arduous, journey of breastfeeding. Plans for feeding babies look different to each individual family, and my personal goal is to exclusively breastfeed for as long as that is possible. (Fun fact: I am a speech therapist and a certified lactation counselor, so I was eager to put this knowledge to use in my own life.)
As can happen, the plan and reality do not always match up. One challenge of breastfeeding, whether nursing or pumping, is that supply can fluctuate from day to day due to a variety of biological factors. At one point over the holidays, I found myself in a very low-supply moment, which was certainly discouraging. To quantify it, I have eight glass jars available to store breastmilk, and on average, about three or four will be full. At this time, about one and a half were full, which amounted to roughly three or four bottles for my son.
As I have done many times before, I supplemented with formula. Unlike before, however, my son was now struggling with the formula we had been using. We quickly consulted with his pediatrician and pivoted to another formula option, which also proved to be difficult for him. Cue the distress.
In a desperate meeting with God, I boldly asked Him to increase my supply so that all my son needed was my breastmilk. I thanked Him for the opportunity to breastfeed and told Him this is how I desire to feed my child.
As a result that can only be attributed to the abundant grace of God, I soon found seven full jars of breastmilk overflowing in the refrigerator, and I have maintained that supply weeks later. It is unprecedented in my own experience, and I am once again in awe of our God and the way He provides.
I even had my husband look in the fridge with me so I could show him a visual of this answered prayer as he was fully with me in the struggle. Sometimes, you just need to bask in the goodness of God and marvel at what He has done right in front of you.
God moment number two: My dad kindly granted me permission to share this story. Recently, my dad and I set off on a hunt to find a specific Bible of his in my parents’ house. After some time, we decided to search the basement, knowing it could be quite the task with all the books and boxes lining the shelves in the storage room.
Before we started, I asked God, “Please lead me right to this Bible. It is too important not to find.” I felt such peace and confidence in my heart knowing that He would do it. My dad took off to the left, and I to the right. I walked into a closet and felt the slightest nudge to turn around.
His Bible was placed on a small wooden ledge next to a window in the spare bedroom. The ledge was sized in a way that made it look as though it had been created just to hold the Bible. God truly led me right to this Bible, just as I had boldly asked of Him.
I showed my dad and asked if he remembered putting it on that specific ledge. He did not. We were both in awe as I recounted my prayer and how I easily found it in the wild west that was this part of their basement. The Bible was in perfect condition, not a tear or bend in any of the pages. I can still clearly see it now, sitting there on that small ledge next to the window. How profoundly intentional and cool is our God?
Even though times are tough right now, there is always something good to reflect on. Do you have any God moments to share? I want to hear all about it! Next week, we have our first guest writer and I can’t wait to read what she has to share with us.
Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (CSB)
