Precarious gift of life

Psalm 139:13-18

36 weeks

As I prepare to see my baby in person for the first time, I am personally aware of four other babies who miscarried during the short time that this little one has been growing in my womb. I know of many others who have miscarried in the past, a couple whose hold on life is precarious even now, children who are alive today only by God's grace protecting them while they were in their mothers' wombs, and several women who long for the blessing of becoming mothers if only the Lord would see fit to grant their request. It is a precious gift each time a child is born, both because the child is itself a blessing from the Lord and because that birth carries so much meaning when we know so many others who did not survive this far.
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I am a little shell-shocked that this will be our second child-blessing in less than twelve months. Sometimes the Lord's timing seems so odd to us humans. Why make a woman who desires a very good thing wait so long to see its fulfillment? Why bring another woman so many gifts so close together? Why cause a baby to be conceived to another who will only turn around and abort the child? His decision to bless the one who rejects His gift and not the one who desires it seems strange. It goes hand in hand I suppose with other questions such as why one woman finds pregnancy such a breeze while another struggles to survive each day. Sometimes the answers can be found only well after the fact. Sometimes we don't understand until the Lord reveals His plan after our own life is over.
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I am expecting to welcome this child into my arms in just a few short hours. This is an incredible blessing and my prayers are with those women who desire a similar blessing or who are mourning the premature loss of their own infant. Life should never be taken be taken for granted. May God protect those whose lives are in danger today, old and young, and may He grant the blessing of parenthood to all those who are wishing for it.
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Linked with Works for Me Wednesday