Unexplainable Jesus: 10 Days To Rediscovering The God You Thought You KnewExemplo

When our son was born, he was very ill. He had to stay in the hospital the first week of his life while the doctors ran test after test. The first night after his birth was horrific. He seized and screamed until he fell asleep for two minutes and then it would begin all over again. The nurses told me the only thing I could do was swaddle him as tightly as I could and clutch him securely to my chest. 

The following night my husband stayed at the hospital with his mom and our son. I feared how the night would unfold. All I could do was pray. 

The next morning my mother-in-law called and told me how they had the most amazing nurse named Christina. She worked with babies like our Nathan all the time and seemed to know exactly what to do. She calmed him down and got him to sleep. I got in the car and drove to the hospital eager to meet her. 

When I laid eyes on Christina, she was not what I expected. She had long gray hair and wore all-white scrubs. There was nothing beautiful about her appearance, but her eyes were pools of the purest blue and I felt as though I could drown in the peace they reflected. She began to speak words over my son that I can scarcely remember as I was in such awe over her presence and the entire event unfolding around me. 

I do remember she said he was a strong child and he would overcome this rough beginning. He had a curious mind, and much wisdom would be required in raising him. Then she squeezed my hand, took Nathan out of my arms, kissed his forehead, whispered something over him I could not hear, handed him back to me, and left. 

That afternoon, I went down to the gift shop to buy Christina a card. I asked one of the nurses to give the card to Christina, but the nurse looked back at me clearly confused. “We don’t have a nurse here named Christina,” she said. 

“Yes,” I insisted, “She was our nurse last night. She told us she doesn’t normally work here, but she happened to be here last night.” 

“Honey, your nurse last night was Jenny,” she replied. “I have no idea who you’re talking about!” 

I walked away amazed. The whole thing was so wild, I could hardly take it all in. How I wish I had written down every word she had said! 

How beautiful that God, in His sovereign wisdom, allowed Zechariah to remember every word spoken by this angel! John was going to have to be one resilient, God-fearing man to step into the sandals God had planned for him! It would be a calling full of wonders, but also much wounding—and no doubt, quite lonely. 

The truth is that every one of us is called to fill a purpose in God’s kingdom and we need to be prepared. We need to know the Scriptures so we know we can depend on God. We need to be ready to stand alone for God, to do hard things, to be courageous. 

How do you intentionally prepare yourself to be ready for whatever God might call you to do? 

If you are a grandparent, parent, aunt, older sibling, teacher, coach, volunteer worker, or mentor, how do you intentionally help prepare those coming behind you?