Thursday, June 16, 2011

Ripples.

I will post about our labor and delivery experience soon..but, I HAD to write this story down before the details got foggy on me.

This morning, a lady walked into our room (Scott was picking up our pooches, so wasn't around) and introduced herself. She is the nurse supervisor at Swedes...I thought she was just going to ask about my experience, so I waited for her to start.

"This is going to sound really strange..."

ok, good opener Ms. Supervisor...Could have been a little stronger, but hey....Im not the boss.

But, it got better, and less weird pretty quickly.

She asked if I sang at Heartland...she just wanted to be sure before she kept talking to me... I confirmed and this is what she told me (I am obviously paraphrasing because, well, I didn't have time to find a recording device of some sort, although now I am considering keeping one in my purse):

She said that four years ago, she started going to Heartland but before then, she grew up Jewish..so she was new to Christianity...something that she didn't really understand was hearing God's voice..and it was something that she never experienced.

Then, two years ago, she saw a video that I did at Heartland sharing our story...and this is what God clearly told her while she watched the video:

That girl will have a baby and she will deliver at your hospital and you will be working that day to tell her this when she has her baby.

She didn't know my name...my last name...if I would even go to Swedes or when the heck we would or if we would even try for another baby. But, she said that she found out my first name and for the last two years, whenever a Stephanie has come in and delivered, she would check to see if it was me.

Finally, three weeks ago, when I stayed overnight, she saw my name...and saw me...found out what my last name was and knew that this little whisper that God gave her two years ago was about to happen...

So, yesterday. Two years after hearing God's voice and wondering if what she heard was really Him....He confirmed to HER that He does speak directly to us. A 2 year faith journey where he used our story but didn't even involve us in the details because this part of our story was not for us, but for HER. Think about that for a second. It. Is. So. Incredible.

We both cried. I jokingly asked her why the heck she waited to tell me this information. But, I get it. God used little Emara in a way that is so indirect to build someone's faith in Him and bring glory to Him.

The more I think about what happened in that conversation, the more filled with gratitude I am and the more amazed I am at the complexity of our stories intertwined and the simplicity of God's goodness.

More to come later...like I said, I just HAD to write that down.


13 comments:

Hannah Lesley said...

and now I have goosebumps...shaving my legs in the shower this morning was definitely a waste...thank you very much:)

Casey Bankord said...

wow, that's amazing!

Jamie Cascio said...

Got me again :)

Sarah Bankord said...

unbelievable!

Erica said...

that made me cry! everything about emara's little life is already so guided & directed by God... so many people are already changed because of her! so so so so happy for you guys!

Anne said...

Such a wonderful testament to God's working all things together for good for those who love Him. He is such a great God!!

Jenny said...

Wow, that's really powerful! Thanks for sharing Steph

Angie said...

that's amazing :) wow... she's a little miracle in so many ways :)

ernp06 said...

when i read the prophecy, i (out loud) simultaneously erupted into both laughter and tears. i was such a ridiculous sight, one of the dogs walked over to see if i was ok. and yet another story of the demonstration of just HOW MUCH God loves us... and how, when we think we're not hearing what we want to hear, He is there, making all things work together for our good. Emara is a very special little girl. So happy for you, Zibells!

Debbie Mayes said...

So amazing! The way the Lord works never ceases to amaze me!

keya said...

This is amazing! Goosebumps all over! It's so amazing to think about how we are all connected...all one big family in God's house! Also, two years is just a blink of an eye with God. While she probably thought, "When will this ever happen?!" and two years felt like forever. God was always working, and the time of it all didn't even matter! Thanks for sharing Steph!

Linda Patefield said...

Stephanie, I've shared this with so many people -- many who were struggling with their faith. A couple of times I got that "yeah, right" look from people and I just wanted to drag them to your front door so they could hear the story from you personally! Thanks for sharing so that God can be glorified in it all!!

Carrie Johnston said...

Stephanie, I've been reading a bunch of your blog today...And besides saying thank you for being a nice distraction from all of the things I SHOULD have been doing today. I just wanted to say that I think it's so brave of you to be sharing your story/stories in the ways that you are. I am sure that God will continue to use you in ways that you cannot even fathom right now.