Nine months ago God gave me a daughter. On Saturday I met her for the first time.
On February 11th my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. We gave her the name, Grace Maureen. Her name will forever stand as a reminder of the way that God has given us what we don’t deserve.
Grace has been a sweet blessing. She has brought us great joy in her first week, and we look forward to many more days of life with her as a part of our family.
Life.
Life is a gift given to us by God (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 8:4-5). It is not an option, opportunity, or a choice to accept or reject. Life is a precious thing each of us has been given – both by being allowed to live, and to be a part of the creation process. Sadly, for decades now, life has become a “Choice” in our nation. We no longer value it as a gift from God, but see it nothing more than a choice of humankind.
I am well aware the there are very unfortunate situations where pregnancy occurs. I have had someone of the closest people in my life find themselves in the midst of an unintended pregnancy – and culture told them that they have a choice. Some have chosen to choose to keep the life God granted them, while others have chosen to discard of it. Even when a person makes a poor choice of aborting a child, God has grace. However, I am a firm believer that those of us that claim Christ must do all that we can to uphold and preserve the precious life that God grants us.
Since the fall of 2011 I have been volunteering for Alternatives Pregnancy Center. Even though my time as a pastor is under high demands, I’ve made this volunteering opportunity a priority. By serving with this ministry I am able to:
My role with Alternatives Pregnancy Center has to been to train drivers for a mobile testing clinic. While there are not many places a man can service in a pro-life pregnancy center, there are enough opportunities to go around! Here is a video I shot explaining my role and how serving with APC has impacted me. I encourage you to get involved with APC or your local pregnancy center.
My mom and I when I was a kid
For my mom and I, it became routine. I would lie down next to her to read the same book that we had read at every other nap time and bedtime. The book cover was a little girl, not much older than me, bending down to smell a tulip. On the inside cover, in my childish handwriting, I had written my name to make sure that everyone knew this book was mine. It was my favorite book, especially when my mom read it. No matter how many times I heard it, or how many times I studied the pictures inside, it always held my attention. The journey through the pages always began in the same soft mom-voice as she read the title, “My Little Golden Book About God.”
Perhaps the reason I liked the book so much was because of the way that it took something too difficult for my little mind to grasp – namely, God – and made Him understandable. It told of the stars and the way that God placed them in the heavens long before I was born. Or how the “smallest flower” and the “busy ant tugging his load,” are all a part of God’s plan. From the “earth in space,” to the daylight and “soft darkness,” this is all God’s doing. The food that fills my little tummy, or the wind and the rain; the flowers, the songs of bird, the laughter of streams, or deep songs of the sea all this God created, for me.
I will never forget the way the book described how, with every hug from my dad, or every kiss from my mom, there I can feel God’s love. If I hurt, or am sorry or lonely, God is there with me. He gives me the dreams of my future and puts a still small voice in my heart. With the last flip of the page my mom would read even softer…
With every flip of the page I was even more engaged than the one before. It was those pages that began my life of obsession with God. I suppose you could say that I am still on the endless pursuit of the Almighty. However, as I now read “My Little Golden Book About God” to my son, Chandler, I can’t help but think about how I’ve changed since I read it with my mom.
The main thing that has changed is my faith – it seems as I’ve grown, my faith has shrunk. This book still serves as a reminder that I must allow my faith to be bigger than life itself; I shall not reduce my view of God simply because my view of the world has been expanded. I must be like a child in my faith and have a wild abandon to believe the greatness of God and His enthralling power.
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15 ESV)
I believe this passage is making a reference to the importance of being born again, but it is also teaching us about Christ view of what our faith should be like. As a child has great dependance and belief in the one that provides for them (in the moment, or for life), so we too must have great trust and dependance on the very God who not only sustains us, but calls us to Himself.
So, how do you keep “child-like faith” as a part of your life? I’d love to hear how you strive to keep your “adult-like” problems from impending on your “child-like faith.” Please share!
Being worthy of Christ does not seem like an achievable goal to me. How can I “earn the right” to “be entitled” to something as high and noble as Christ Himself?
I was struck with a passage today that spoke of being worthy of Christ, or on the contrary, it explained what makes us unworthy of Him. Matthew chapter 10 verses 37 – 39 talks about the importance of loving Christ above all. It simply says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me…” And not only does Christ mention parents, but children, as well. The people I love the most are my family members.Without a doubt, these people in my life are God’s greatest gift to me next to salvation. But Christ is saying, if you love these great things I have given to you more than you love me, then you are not worthy of me.
Chandler James Weidmann at 7 Months
Chandler,
Today you shared your first orange with me. We sat in the car waiting for your mom as she talked inside church. I was ravenous after preaching the Sunday sermon. I opened the first thing I could find to eat which was an orange rolling around in the backseat. I gave you a little bite, and you sucked the juice right out of it. I loved sharing that orange with you. It was refreshing in more than one way; while the orange filled my physical hunger, your companionship re-hydrated my soul.
JoshWeidmann
