Samuel Judah Simon 04/20/2012 8 lbs. 15 oz.!!!

This is a story of God's perfect faithfulness and grace.  We have been given a son, and we are filled with joy and reverent awe!  Samuel Judah Simon was born 04/20/2012 at 0048 and is doing great!

For some time after having Elsie (2), we had planned on growing our family but it seemed that our efforts were unsuccessful.  We began to get discouraged and were very active in prayer, but still realized no positive pregnancy test.  It was during this time that I had been reading in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 11, where Jesus is instructing his disciples how they should pray.  He tells them a parable of a man who goes to a friend at midnight asking for loaves of bread, and boldly knocks on the door expecting some help.  How are we to expect God to respond to us when we knock boldly at His door into the far reaches of the night?  Jesus tells us what we should expect in the heart of the Father, "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened."  We both got down on our knees in our frustration and discouragement and prayed, 'Okay God, you ask us to pray with persistence and to knock louder, so here we are at the door!'

One of our favorite stories in the Bible that really stood out to us after discovering we were pregnant, was the story of Hannah and Samuel.  Hannah's womb was barren and she was in a similar place of discouragement and frustration with no children of her own.  She also was waiting on the Lord, and looked to Him prayerfully putting her full hope in His hands.  1 Samuel 1:10-11 describes her urgent need, and her persistent prayer, "She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.  She made a vow and said, 'O Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life..."  Later, we find that God heard her prayer and answered it, "It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying 'Because I have asked him of the Lord.'" (1 Samuel 1:20)

Our story is similar, and will be an unforgettable demonstration of God's faithfulness in our lives.  He heard our need, and He blessed us with a son!  His middle name 'Judah' comes from the story of Leah, who bore Jacob three other sons, then had Judah, saying 'This time I will praise the Lord." (Genesis 29:35).  We are praising our Great God also, and hope that our little Samuel Judah will come to know the God who gave Him life and praise Him forever.

May our little Samuel be a blessing to God as he will always be a blessing to us!  Thank you God!  You are good!

Thank you for all those who prayed for us throughout the pregnancy and into today.  We are very blessed, and will be delighted to share our little bundle of joy with all of you soon.

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely, I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:6)