In April of 2018 a lovely friend gifted me the sweetest pair of little girl booties. We were not pregnant yet, but she gave them to me in faith, following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I would keep these gifts in what would be her room. A room I would often be in, thanking Jesus for the little girl who we were believing for.
A few days ago, I was dressing our daughter Sophie, and I got to put these little booties on her. Tears streamed down my face as I distinctly remembered the night my friend gave them, the courage and faith that she had. I also remembered the countless times that we had prayed and believed for this little girl over the years and the heartache that we had experienced.
A few people have now asked me what it’s like having Sophie—having received the miracle? I usually respond with—it is still surreal, and I actually don’t ever want to allow it to become too familiar. Because I never want to forget all that Jesus has done for us. Holding her is like tangibly holding the goodness of God. Did I believe that God was good before her? Absolutely. But she is just like this beautiful reminder of the goodness of God and His power that is at work in our lives.
We all need reminders
It is a good thing to be reminded of the goodness of God and His power that is at work in our lives. Because if He can do it in this area of our life, then He can certainly do it in other areas of our lives as well.
Reminders are one of those funny things, because in one day you can have any number of them. You can have reminders in your phone, alerts in your calendar, tasks on your to do list to jog your memory. Recently I was having coffee with a friend and as we were sitting there, their phone made a slurping noise. Laughingly, I asked my friend if it was their phone. They replied—yes, they explained that their doctor had encouraged them that they needed to drink three litres of water every day. This particular friend explained to me that the only way they were going to get through drinking that much water every day was to set a reminder on their phone. So that was what the slurping noise was about. They had downloaded an application where they could submit how much water they needed to drink per day, and it would give them regular reminders of when to drink.
We all have reminders of one thing or another but what if we were that deliberate in being reminded about how good God has been to us? Imagine if we had set reminders to celebrate His goodness. My mother always would say to me that no matter what you are going through, there is always something to be grateful for.
A beautiful reminder is what our daughter has been to me. A beautiful reminder of His goodness and power that is at work in our life.
Set Reminders
We all have reminders; of people, places, times. Some are beautiful, others—not so much. But what I have learnt over this past few years is that when I decide to thank Jesus for all He has done in my life it helps me to forget about the petty things in life.
It’s hard to be really thankful and negative at the same time. It’s difficult to feel joy and deep sorrow at the same time. David writes in Psalm Chapter 34, verse 8 to taste and see that the Lord is good. Jesus wants you and I to be able to testify of His goodness.
He wants us to be able to experience it first hand and encourage others with it. He not only wants us to be reminded of His goodness, but to remind others as well.
I was recently listening to one of Hillsong United’s most recent songs called Ready or Not.
My favourite line of this song is—bring Him praise for what He’s going to do next.
Whether we have received our miracle this side of heaven or not we can continue to thank Him for all He has done and be reminded of all that He is able to do next.
Elise Pappas and her husband are Campus Pastors of a Church on the Sunshine Coast. They have one son, Jonathan and a daughter Sophie. Elise has a heart for God’s word and people. She also enjoys trail running and spending precious time with her friends and family.
Elise Pappas is a Pastor and together with her husband pastor a church on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. They have a son, Jonathan and a daughter, Sophie. Elise is a former clinical drug trial research coordinator and business owner. She writes about life and ministry experiences.