Ordered Steps...

I started to write this blog, but got sidetracked by an echocardiogram. Guess that kinda takes precedence! For some strange reason, getting an echo ranks just under going to the dentist on the list of things that I hate to do, which is ridiculous! They tend to put me in a foul mood—and that’s mental, because they’re pretty important.

 Yesterday, I sat and watched the snow. As Joe LoRusso will verify, I typically hate snow. But when I’m tucked in safe and warm, even Grinchy-ol’ me can enjoy the beauty in the flakes. As I was watching it fall, a scenario from my childhood came to mind…

Ever walk through untouched snow? There's something fun about messing it up with your footprints, right? When I was a kid, I would walk very carefully so as to not disturb anything other than where my foot landed. I wanted that perfect little imprint of where I had been...until my sister came along and pummeled me, and generally messed up my Currier & Ives moment.
Sometimes, when we look back at where we've been, we focus more on the mess that we've left behind.
Sometimes, when we look back at where we've been, God whispers Psalms 37:23 in our ear... "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way."
A conversation with my doctor—my very highly-trained, well-reputed, hard-to-get-into specialist—caused me to take a look at the steps that the Lord has ordered over the past 2 years that have led to this point.  My OB casually remarked at one visit that I shouldn’t give up on having children, even though a multitude of cardiologists had said otherwise. He referred me to a perinatologist. When I met this doctor (this time around), he began to plan a path for a safe delivery for this baby. Step-by-step, he ordered tests and introduced medications designed to encourage a physical environment where this baby could grow and develop. As delivery approaches, he’s carefully documented every biophysical change and countered it with medications that have most likely saved my life, and the life of my child. At the very least, they’ve allowed me to make it almost to full-term.
The things that seemed impossible, are coming into fruition, because the steps we’ve been taking have been planned out by a God that I once accused of abandoning me. Looking back at this journey, even by medical standards, is amazing.

Delivery is coming soon. I’m struggling with fear, for sure. But sitting here this morning, discussing facts with my doctor, I could almost see the hand of God turn back the clock for just a moment…like He turned me around so I could view the perfect footprints in the snow…He reminded me that these steps are ordered by Him.

Sometimes, you look at the past and you turn into a pillar of salt.

Sometimes, you reflect on the journey and it gives you faith for the future.

As I type this, my little guy is kicking my laptop. He’s reminding me that soon, we’re going to meet face-to-face. I’m going to get to hold him, to cuddle him, to see him meet his Daddy. I hope the joy of his delivery never wears off…I hope that when he’s 18 years old, that I still look at him and remember this time…that if he runs off to the Army or to the mission field, that I remember that the God Who ordered the steps leading to his successful birth, will take care of him in the middle of whatever battlefield he’s facing. I hope that the footprints in the snow never melt, and that I never forget what it is, to look back on the journey and see the hand of God.

We have a lot to look forward to…

We have a lot to be thankful for…

We have a God Who “delights in our way,” and Who orders our steps

The steps ahead of us…

The steps behind us…

And the steps we take where we stand still, and simply enjoy the view.