Lindsey had a doctor’s appointment yesterday (photo above is from first visit–now you can see the baby) in which we were able to see the heartbeat of baby Mitchell. The ultrasound showed a baby who is 7 weeks old today. What an incredible miracle—the entire reproductive process that is. Everything that has to happen at exactly the right time is simply overwhelming.

It’s also a miracle God would entrust me with one child, let alone two! But one of the considerations Lindsey and I faced with Ben, and now with baby 2, is whether to share the news as soon as we found out or to wait until Lindsey and baby made it through the first trimester when the risk for miscarriage is lower.

I wanted to share briefly why we don’t wait to share the news and will likely never wait.

Back when Lindsey found out she was pregnant with Ben and we had the initial conversation of whether to wait to tell anyone outside of the family, a single Scripture verse came to mind, and it’s the same one we’re sticking with today. Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Though I’m sure some people weep out of sheer terror upon becoming pregnant, we were weeping because we were thrilled! It was a celebratory moment. We hugged, cried, and immediately prayed for the health of the baby we now know as Ben (who’s a character I tell you).

I said I didn’t want to wait to tell people and threw out Romans 12:15 as my reason why. So we went with it and started sharing the news. But why?

Because we believe in the power of Christian community. Community in and of itself is special, but when Christ is the center it’s spectacular. Just tagging on the name of Christ doesn’t make that true, though. All you have to do is look at some churches.

What we hold to, however, is that when the body of Christ is functioning properly and isn’t all jacked up because certain members of the body are being cantankerous, rejoicing together is really fun. People get excited for one another and celebrate together and thank God together, and that’s just plain old fun in my book.

But WHAT IF Lindsey had, or does, miscarry? Well, then we’ll weep together. Lindsey and I will weep. We’ll weep with family. But we’ll weep with all of you who will weep with us as well. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies as Maroon 5 says, but we recognize a Sovereign God regardless of the circumstances. Call it fideistic if you will (meaning, your faith is too much like an emotional/intellectual crutch), but that’s how we live. We are a people of faith who must live behind a curtain of sorts, where we cannot see the full picture.

All that to say, if Lindsey miscarries—which we pray to God she doesn’t and ask that you join us in that—you will know about it. But each day we live with great hope and anticipation for baby Mitchell. And if you want to rejoice and pray with us, here are a couple of prayers we’re praying:

1. That baby Mitchell will be born healthy and strong after a full-term pregnancy. (We want a boy and aren’t afraid to ask for him like we did with Ben, but we pray most for healthy).
2. That Lindsey will not be as nauseous as she was with Ben. At 7 weeks is when she got it bad the first time, and all signs are pointing to the same experience. So pray she’d be able to rest, have the necessary energy and not be nauseous.
3. That daddy will find the right job at the right time. Don’t get me wrong, I want a job now. If it pays and has benefits I’m in. But I don’t want to rush into something that I’ll regret, so patience is the name of the game. Please pray on my behalf if you would.

Thank you for taking the time to read. And thank you especially for those who take the time to pray and rejoice with us.