When we thought we had learned all of these lessons and more, the Lord showed us that there was still more to learn. Home from the hospital for about two weeks, I was feeling better. And then one lazy summer afternoon, I answered the phone to hear my doctor's voice. I knew instantly that it was time to brace myself. While he's a caring physician, he's not in the habit of calling just to chat.

Within minutes, my mind was racing: Just what was Trisomy 18? Why is it "incompatible with life," according to the medical world? And, couldn't they have misread the results?

It wasn't a certain diagnosis, but for two dark days, we fervently sought the Lord's will. I didn't know how to pray. We had prayed for this child's health far before conception and probably every day since. Yet, I don't think believers are exempt from the sorrows of life in this fallen world.

But what comfort I found when I simply asked. As I sat on my bed with the Bible open, God reminded me how He "made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139) "He made us wonderfully complex! His workmanship is marvelous," and He watched as "I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb." He "saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day has passed."

We knew with certainty - but it helped to be reminded - that the Lord has a plan especially for this child of His whom He has known since the beginning of time.

That same night, the Lord also reminded me how he worked through Elisha to give the old, barren woman a son, and how He later used Elisha to revive the young boy. The Lord heals, He restores life, and He promises fruitfulness - even in the most barren of places.

Answering my confusion about how to pray, the Lord pointed me right to His words in Luke 11, where Jesus encouraged disciples to be persistent in prayer.

Finally, He answered our prayers mightily and gave us a high-tech view into the womb to see our perfectly formed son, his little heart beating strongly, everything measuring correctly, and those precious, tiny 10 toes and 10 fingers waving at us.

All of this and I'm only five months pregnant. Imagine what we have left to learn. Meanwhile, we have the not-to-be-missed opportunity of giving God the unspeakable glory He is due. "For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." (1 Chron. 16:35)

Stephanie Gerken lives in northwest Ohio with her husband, Jeff, and their five blessings, including four sons (one of them due in December) and one daughter. She is a homeschool mother, writer, and editor.