A Birthday Promise

Jeremiah 29:10-12 

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

I am always shocked when I read these verses from Jeremiah.  Yes, the promise is wonderful, but the waiting is intense.  Seventy years is a long time!  A lifetime for some.  I am often impatient to wait on the Lord to bring hope within the span of one day.  It is hard to imagine these Israelites waiting on Him to visit and fulfill His promises for an entire seventy years!  But what a beautiful promise for a future, a hope, and a relationship with Him after all those years of exile in Babylon.

Parenting our kids is sometimes like waiting those seventy years.  We watch as kiddos sometimes choose exile over the promise, but He who promises is still faithful and He will bring to completion every good work He has started (Phil 1:6).  

Monday was Noah's 7th Birthday!  What a blessing that we have been able to share in nearly all of his seven years of life!  We celebrated a few days early so that grandparents and cousins could join us for the festivities.  It is so amazing to watch these precious kiddos grow up.  This last year has held a lot of personal change for Noah and he continues to grow and mature.  He is so sensitive yet tough, with deep emotions and incredible determination.  We pray that Noah's heart would delight in the Lord and find grace and peace in Him.   We pray that God would redeem the years of brokenness in Noah's life and bring healing, hope, and purpose to our sweet son!  We love you, Noah!