Don't waste your bed rest.

A few years ago, John Piper put out a book called Don't Waste Your Life.  It's one that has greatly impacted the Christian community to take stock of what we are living for and think through how to live a  life that as you look back over the years convinces you and others that you have lived to the glory of God.  He wrote an article not too long after that as he was struggling with cancer called Don't Waste Your Cancer, calling each of us to not forget how God fulfills His perfect plans for us through the suffering that we experience.  I'm home from church today, laying on Natty's bed in the sun and listening to a sermon from my pastor Coty in Charlotte that he preached while he and Beth were visiting last month.  I was sick the day he preached, but heard the message was powerful and wanted to hear it as I rest this morning.  Our church is studying the book of Genesis and the passage that Coty covered told the story of how Abraham, in an effort to fulfill his responsibilities before dying, sent his servant to his old country to find a wife for his son Isaac.  Looking at the lives of Abraham, the servant and Rebekah, Coty shows us 4 points that we can follow in order to not waste our life.  As I listened, the most immediate way I can apply them is in not wasting my bed rest.  So, I will pray (number one).  The servant bathed his journey in prayer as he sought out God's perfect plan for a wife for Isaac.  I will pray that God will fulfill His promises in scripture in this time of waiting- that I will feel His constant presence, that I will know He is mighty to do great things in my body and the life of my family, that He will meet every need.  Two, I will act.  Abraham didn't wait for a descendant to happen to take a trip to visit him, bringing the perfect wife in tow.  He sent out his servant to find one and bring her back so that Isaac would not return to the land God called them out of, but remain in the promised land.  My action looks more like lack of action, but that too is action, right?  I have chosen to stop my normal activities, ask my friends and family for help, put my feet up and choose to have a joyful, God-glorifying attitude.  I will act to organize my days, to show my daughter that she is loved and that we trust God in these challenges, to make the most of my downtime by praying, reading God's Word and trying to encourage others.  Three, I will trust God.  All of the characters in this story believed God and believed He would fulfill His promises.  I must trust, as I learned in a new way with Zion, that God is good.  He is love.  He loves my family.  He will take care of us.  He will do what is best for us.  He will never forsake us, no matter what.  And finally, I will give thanks.  How Abraham and his family must have praised and given thanks to the Lord for the way in which He worked out so perfectly the meeting between the servant and Rebekah, the willingness of Laban and the love between Isaac and Rebekah.  I will give thanks for every day that this baby stays safe inside.  I will give thanks for a successful cerclage.  I will give thanks for the numerous amount of people around me that are helping me take care of Natty, visiting, cooking meals and buying groceries.  I will give thanks that I can return to the U.S. where I will receive better medical care.  I will give thanks for the life of this child, for my healthy little girl, for my loving and strong husband, for my supportive family, for God's faithfulness.  I do not want to waste my bed rest.