He Saves the Best for Last

I’m shaking. My eyes are welling up with tears. I can’t even read the results clearly. But, sure enough, there they are—two blue lines slowly intersecting in a small circular screen.

I’m pregnant.

For most of my life, I’ve known I would have three children. But, I never thought I would be a mom to four. We weren’t trying. We were being careful...very, very careful. My husband had a vasectomy scheduled, but it got canceled along with thousands of other elective surgeries in our area due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Go figure, I would get pregnant the month after he was supposed to have his surgery. But, how? When? All I can say, is it must have been the hand of God. It must of been a part of His plan because it certainly wasn’t a part of mine.

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” (Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

But, I thought I was walking in His will. I thought I was living out my purpose in His plan. And, the truth is, yes, I was! I just was living it out in part and not in full.

I viewed my family as whole and complete before discovering I was pregnant with our fourth child. And, I wasn’t wrong. Our family was whole. Like what I know of God in trinity—Father, Spirit, and Son—my family is whole with three. But, I didn’t realize that whole can be even more whole, and complete can be even more complete. It’s like adding the bride of Christ to the trinity. God is complete without us, but His plan is for us to join with Him in the fullness of glory. He made room for more. He made room for me.

I have to be honest, though. What I have is already so perfect. It’s easy to worry about how adding another child to our family may tip the balances. But, God, He didn’t worry if adding the church to Himself would taint Him. Instead He made us perfect and whole to be perfect and whole with Him.

“[Christ] gave up his life for her (the Bride of Christ) to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” (Ephesians‬ ‭5:25-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

So, there is no imbalance. There is no impurity. There is only wholeness and more wholeness.

As God continued to speak to me and reveal the goodness of His plans, I began to notice how this child has been a part of His plans for me all along. He only revealed to me three, because, at the time, that is all I could handle to know. But, now, He’s revealing to me the fullness of His promises.

I will admit, though, I’m feeling like other areas of my life are going to be put into slow motion as I take my time to mother a family of four children 4-years old and younger. But, patience is what God has been pouring into me and speaking to me. It’s how He revealed His plan to me—through patiently waiting for the sunrise. That’s when He told me about the baby. That’s when I decided to take a pregnancy test. That’s when I knew He was giving my patience purpose.

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:36‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve been feeling like life will get put on hold. But, wait a minute! The scriptures say, “continue to do God’s will.” It doesn’t say, “put God’s will on hold.” Maybe His will for me just looks different than what I had originally imagined for myself.

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

I’m realizing this now more than ever.

I thought I already had the best. But, the best is yet to come.

We were on vacation when I found out we were expecting. A few days later, God rearranged the plans that we had for our return home. And, in that change, we were able to stay another night at our vacation house.

Every morning while we were there, the Spirit woke me up with enough time to get to the beach and see the sun rise out of the darkness. I never set an alarm. But, faithfully, every morning I got up. And, there on the beach is where I learned a new depth to waiting on God and having patience. But, this last morning was different. I woke up and red light was already peaking through the window. I frantically checked the time and realized that the sun itself would be appearing in less than ten minutes. I had a message from my mom on my phone saying that she was at the beach already. I jumped out of bed and I ran. I ran hard. I didn’t want to miss what God had for me today.

As I ran, I watched the sky. It was much more brilliant and vivid than any other morning. It was full of color and life more than I could have ever expected. The six other sunrises I had witnessed before this one were brilliant and beautiful, but this...This was far superior. And, I almost missed it.

When I arrived on the beach, I saw that my mom m, my younger brother, m and my sister-in-law were all there. I plopped my body in the sand to catch my breath and opened up my phone to time lapse what I would consider to be the most magnificent sunrise I have ever seen.

“Isn’t it amazing how God saves the best for last,” my mother commented. She knew I had been up every morning watching the sun. I had showed her all of the pictures and time lapses I had taken from the early mornings. “When we think we’ve already experienced the best, He still amazes us to bring the best for last.”

I knew what this meant for me, too. I began to cry. God was saving the best for me for last. The best of who I could ever be as a mother, the best of what my family could become, He was doing it now. He saved the best for last.

And, then, in an instant I realized why Christ’s first recorded miracle was turning water into wine. Jesus had told His mother, Mary, that it wasn’t His time yet. In a way, it was unplanned and unexpected, but He still wanted to reveal something about His character. He wanted to show the people that He saves the best for last.

“When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. ‘A host always serves the best wine first,’ he said. ‘Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now’” (John‬ ‭2:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

He saved the best for last. He saved my best for last. And, I almost missed it. I tried to prevent, and God made a way. I tried to determine my future, and God rerouted to a greater glory. Even this sunrise...I hadn’t planned to be here. I hadn’t planned to experience this. But, God loves me enough to change my plans and reroute my life so I can experience the fullness of His glory.

When Christ turned the water into wine, He knew that most of the guests wouldn’t be alert enough to appreciate it. Yet, He did it anyways. He saved the best for last. I’m grateful, that I heard the call. I’m thankful that God awakened me from my sleep (literally, figuratively, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and fully) so that I could be alert—so that I could be aware enough to experience and appreciate all that He has for me—to be fully alive as the best of His plans (and not mine) unfolds before me.