Having lost my first child in Togo, a still-born girl, I wondered if God would ever allow Neal and me to have children. I pondered what submitting to God’s will would mean for me. Lord, if you ever choose to share your plans concerning our family, I would be grateful.
One night a year later, Neal and I were sitting in a church service in Indiana. I was expecting again. In the pew in front of us, two young children played peek-a-boo with us, much to our delight. My heart yearned to see the little life kicking inside me too.
Then a woman stood and sang a Gaither song. I heard the words, “how sweet to hold a newborn baby.” Immediately, a warm blanket of peace and relief began to cover me and I knew that not only this child would be delivered safely to us, but also a second. “Lord, if this is truly what you are telling me, confirm it by your Word,” I prayed.
The following morning, I continued reading my Bible where I had stopped the day before—the first chapter of Luke. Verse 45 set my heart racing with joy: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
In December I sat again in a pew, at the back of a darkened church, holding a newborn baby boy in my arms. Neal, portraying the prophet Isaiah in a Christmas play and garbed in flowing, red robes, recited his part, beaming:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
Isaiah himself could not have spoken with more assurance!
The Babe of Bethlehem arrived, fulfilling God’s Word. And our “private prophecy” was fulfilled in God’s time too. Daniel was born on December 13, 1981. And Ben arrived in Kara, Togo, on June 4, 1983. Glory to God!