Basis for having children

We have been praying for a child for some time. Each time, we prayed that God will provide us with not just a child, but one who will grow up to glorify Him and serve Him wholly. Since Elaine told me she is pregnant, I have been searching the bible for a verse of dedication. God led me to this verse: 1 Samuel 1:28 - "So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. And he will worship the Lord there." I read the whole chapter and meditated on it. I claim this verse for my future child. This is what the Lord revealed to me:
1 Samuel 1 is about Hannah and how God gave her a child at the end. There are several points that we can all take note as future parents. Verse 7 - "This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the house of the Lord,"…Despite God "closing her womb" and did not grant her any children, Hannah went to the house of the Lord year after year. Her persistence in seeking God is also reiterated in Jesus' parable about a man who persisted in asking for 3 loaves of bread from his neighbour at midnight and finally received them. We need to continually remind ourselves of God's perfect timing, infinite wisdom, limitless power and everlasting love so that we can continue to worship Him, praise Him and seek Him despite our situations and despite unanswered prayers. Verse 10 - "In bitterness of soul, Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord." If Hannah had thought that God cannot help her, she would have stopped pleading with God. Despite her disappointments year after year, Hannah continued praying to the Lord. This showed how hardcore her faith in God is. There is no doubt in her mind that God can grant her a child, it is only whether God is willing or not. Verse 11 - "O Lord Almighty, if you will look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget me but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…." Hannah understood the meaning of procreation. To bring forth future generations of godly servants who will serve God wholeheartedly. On top of that, she took a further step by promising to dedicate her son's life wholly to God's work. That is not just a noble act. It should be the basis for Christians to bear children and to bring up their children in God-fearing manner. While Hannah's example is drastic, we as future Christian parents should know that having children is not a personal desire alone. Bringing up children to be godly servants of God is our calling as parents, and in this respect, many Christians fail. We need to have the right mindset to be godly parents for our future children and to equip ourselves to raise them and instill in them the ways of God. I believed that many parents face problems with their children's behaviours, health, poor conduct or poor results in schools, etc,because they failed to dedicate their children to God. They did not ask God to mould their children and claim these young lives for God. They are raising their children with a selfish mentality of being great doctors or lawyers, instead of pastors, missionaries or evangelists. Verses 27, 28 - "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." 28 "So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord." When the time came, Hannah lived up to her end of the bargain. She brought young Samuel, as young as one-year old, to the temple to live there forever to learn to serve. While this may be an extreme example, it shows how important it is for us to honour our promises to God. I continue to claim this verse 1 Samuel 1:28 for my daughter Elizabeth and I trust that God will be pleased with her. I hold onto my faith that my God is a faithful, loving God and will heal our daughter, so that she can be a great servant of God and a great testimony of God's faithfulness.
Simon

Discovery of Digeorge's Syndrome

Dear friends, Thank you for your kind and encouraging words and prayers for our baby. Your encouragements and prayers have kept our faith strong. I do not wish to burden you with constant email requests and prayers. This will be the last email from us to update you before we tell you of good things from God. Yesterday, our situation just got worse. Lizzie's condition is the worst you can expect. The result of the amnio-fluid analysis showed that in addition to the multiple heart defects, Lizzie has DiGeorge's Syndrome, which is a form of chromosome deficiency resulting in retardation, deformation, thyroid and immune system deficiency. With the new findings, the gyne suggested that we reconsider our options for this pregnancy. We were beyond devastation... when God turned away from His children. Yesterday night, we struggled to bring ourselves to the Touch Jesus He Heals! healing meeting at Living Hope Methodist Church. When we sang praises to God, we cried. It is not easy to worship Him. We worship Him nonetheless.
I was reminded of several things yesterday:
1. The amnio fluid was extracted from Elaine's womb on the 26 April,before we went on our knees in prayer. I only asked for your prayers on the 2 May. We have been praying every day for our baby and have appropriated God's healing for her. Our God will heal His children,and His timing is perfect.
2. Our God is greater than any heart defects and deficiencies. While we submit to the opinions of experts, we hold on dearly to God's promise that we, as His children, can ask anything in His name, and He will give us the desires of our heart.
3. Jesus has removed all condemnation from His people at the cross. God's children and His children's children shall not be condemned by diseases, sickness and defects. We are fearfully and wonderfully made so that we can serve our God and glorify His name. We want to claim this for our baby, so that she can grow healthily as a servantof God.
4. The worst to happen to our baby has happened. From now on, Lizzie is relying on the grace of our living God for the restoration of her body. She will be His testimony to us.

We sincerely thank you for your kind prayers over our baby. That is all we need from you to move the Hand of God.
Whatever the outcome, glory be to God.
Simon & Elaine

Discovery of Taussig Bing Anomaly

Dear friends, as some of you may know and some don't, Elaine is now 5 months pregnant with our baby girl, Elizabeth. It has been a wonderful and amazing 5 months for us as first-time parents, observing God's hands at work. Before Elaine was pregnant, we have been praying for God to give us a child so that we can raise the future generation of kingdom citizens. We prayed every day for her, that she will be a child who will glorify God. This joy was taken away last week through a dramatic turn of events which I want to tell you because we believe that God wants this to be a testimony to many people. I am not sending this to you so that you can sympathize with us or comfort us, but that you will pray for little Lizzie and tell this to others. God wants the life of others changed, and if it takes our child's life to do this, we will accept it. Last Tuesday (25 April), we went to NUH for a scheduled scan of the baby. Everything about Lizzie, her head, her hands, her legs, are perfectly formed. The gynae told me to expect a tall girl because she has long legs. Half way thru' the scan, the gynea detected a gap in Lizzie's heart. We were sent for another scan on the same day and it is confirmed that there is a hole in her heart. We were devastated. On Wednesday, we were sent to a NUH specialist for further scanning to see if there are other defects. It turned out that the hole is the smallest problem. Lizzie is diagnosed with Fallot's tetralogy, which is a group of 4 major defects of the heart. With that, our hearts were crushed. On Friday, we sought a second opinion from a pediatric cardiologist. He is recommended by NUH as well as a church friend. He scanned Elaine's tummy for more than 1 hr and said it is worse than he thought. Lizzie does not have Fallot's. The defect is rarer than Fallot's and more tricky to treat. Besides the gap in her heart, the main artery leading from the lungs to her heart is underdeveloped and not leading to the right place in her heart. Effectively, she will not be able to breathe the moment she arrives in this world. Lizzie's chances of survival to term is good, but there will be at least one open heart surgery within the first week of her birth to temporarily fix the problem. When she is 3 or 4, there will be a major open heart surgery to close the hole and put a tube to direct the blood flow from her lungs to her heart. The mortality rate of each surgery range from 5% to 40%. Naturally, we are crushed to receive bad news almost every day about our baby. We felt hopeless and abandoned by God. After much reflections and prayers over the weekend, we are more at peace with what's been happening. We want to trust our God to heal Lizzie and restore her heart before she is born. We trust our God to bless His people and so we know Lizzie will be born a healthy baby, formed in the image of God. We trust that she will not need to undergo surgeries because God will heal her. We covet for your prayers for our baby girl. We also asked that you tell your friends about Lizzie, even your non-believing friends. We believe that God wants this to be a testimony for Him. Please tell as many pple as you know. It will be with great joy in future when I send you the news that Lizzie is healed. We thank you for your prayers for our baby girl and be a part of this testimony. Not only do we know that our baby is prayed for, we feel so comforted that we have you to support us in our times of need.
God is good, all the time.
God bless,Simon