Mr. Jensen grinned. "So, we have a new baby in the family."
Julie's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Daddy! Why didn't you tell us?! Is it a boy or a girl? How big is she? How is mother?" and Jason added, "Isn't it early?"
#25- Bearing a Baby
A Character story about servant spirit.
Mr. Jensen met the twins at the church and packed their camp geer into the car. On the trip home Jason managed to wedge in only two sentences from the back seat. The rest of the conversation was dominated by Julie sharing all she could remember of what she learned at camp, and of Karen's salvation.
When Julie finally finished the details of that Saturday morning, Mr. Jensen grinned. "So, we have a new baby in the family."
Julie's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Daddy! Why didn't you tell us?! Is it a boy or a girl? How big is she? How is mother?" and Jason added, "Isn't it early?"
Mr. Jensen began to laugh. "I don't mean our baby. I mean Karen. She was born into God's family at camp."
"Daddy," Julie fussed, "you shouldn't do that to us. We thought you meant Mommy's baby."
Mr. Jensen was still laughing. "Yes, I admit I wasn't too clear. But it was fun to see your expression. Really though, as you shared what happened at camp, I couldn't help but to notice several similarities between what you did, Julie, and what Mother will experience in bringing our little one into the world. And in one sense, you were like a mother to Karen."
"A mother?" Julie questioned turning up her nose. "I don't get it."
"Well, for instance, it takes a baby nine months to grow inside its mother before it is ready to be born into the world. And all this growing is going on in secret. The rest of us have to wait patiently. So from the first time you showed love to Karen at school and invited her to Sunday school to the time she accepted Christ as her Saviour was what, about three months? You had to have patience, trusting the Lord that He was working in her heart in secret."
"I have to admit, there were times when I doubted anything was going on in her heart," Julie confessed.
"Like when you told me at camp that you didn't think she was any closer to accepting Christ than before," Jason recalled.
"Yes," Mr. Jensen continued, "we all have times when our faith grows thin. Then we need to claim a promise."
Julie grinned. "Jason helped me do that. He reminded me of what you had told us about giving of ourselves."
"There, that's another one. A mother gives of her whole body to nurture that little one. The oxygen she breathes, and the food she eats is all the baby gets. Did you notice that when you were willing to give everything, including the necklace, then God drew Karen to Himself? It is such a beautiful picture!"
"Yah, that's right," Jason mused from the back seat. "It almost seemed like after Julie gave the necklace to God, all of a sudden, Karen wanted to be saved."
"Yes," Mr. Jensen continued, "it seems like it was 'all of a sudden' but really the work was going on all along. A baby seems like it will be content inside mother forever. But there comes a day when it is too big and it wants a change. Then chemical changes trigger the processes of birth. After birth the baby will take in its own oxygen, and food, and begin the process of living more and more on its own."
Julie turned to her dad. "That's just what it seemed like. All of a sudden she was not content to live without the Lord. Boy, it sure would be easier if you could predict how long it will take for people, like you can with babies."
Just then they drove into the driveway of the Jensen home. "There is one other similarity I want to tell you later, Sissy. Don't let me forget."
They unpacked the car and greeted their mom. Soon Julie was rehearsing the entire story, and adding details to the version she told her dad. Mrs. Jensen had a good laugh when the children shared what their dad said about a new baby. "Let's hope he waits a little longer," Mrs. Jensen said with a smile.
"Or SHE," Julie added.
After lunch dirty clothes had to be washed and sleeping bags aired on the clothesline. It was not until supper that they had time to chat again.
"Daddy, you were going to tell me something more about how Karen being saved is like our baby's birth."
"Oh, right. I didn't want to forget this one because it is the most important right now. Let me put it to you as a question. What would you think if, after our baby is born, we just let him or her try to find food on his own- we didn't give the baby any food?"
"Oh, Daddy, you wouldn't do that. She would die."
"You're right, of course. And mother will be the chief one to give that nourishment to the baby. Now I want you to understand this: you have a special privilege and responsibility to give nourishment to Karen so she can grow as a new Christian, as a new child of God."
"But how do I do that?" Julie asked.
"Good question. Anyone have an idea?"
After a pause, Mrs. Jensen suggested, "Maybe you could get together with her once a week and go over the Sunday school lesson, and help her learn the memory verses."
"And they can pray together and stuff," Jason added.
"Good ideas," Mr. Jensen affirmed. "Do you kids remember the story of the children of Israel leaving Egypt?"
"We ought to," Jason said, "the speaker at camp talked about that in one of the night services."
"Oh, really? Well, let me ask you this: Israel is called God's 'first born' in the Bible. So when was the nation of Israel born?"
"Wasn't Abraham the father of the Jews?" Jason asked.
"Yes, but Israel was not a nation at that time. God planted a tiny group of people in Egypt during the time of Joseph. Like a baby in the womb, Israel was in the place of greatest nourishment and protection. It grew into a great nation and finally after 400 years it was too big for Egypt. Then through a series of ten plagues, like labour pains for a mother, Israel was thrust out of Egypt. In fact, they even passed through the water, the Red Sea, as a baby also is born through water. And do you know what God did next? Think of what I just told you."
"Oh, yah," Julie responded, "He fed them, like with water and manna."
"Right. He fed them, and taught them about Himself so they learned not to live by bread alone but by every word that He spoke."
"Boy, that's neat!" Jason exclaimed. "When something is born- a baby, or a Christian, or a nation- it is always the same way. It's just like a big plan."
Mr. Jensen grinned. "Not LIKE a plan, it IS a plan."
Julie sighed. "All this talk makes me even more anxious for my new sister to be born. But like you said, I'll have to wait patiently. In the mean time, I'll talk with Karen tomorrow in Sunday school about getting together. I want to be a good mother to BOTH of the babies."