We had been married nearly four years, when God blessed us with a little girl. It wasn’t that we intended to wait that long. In fact, Patsy had become quite frustrated with the whole matter, and questioned if she would ever have a child.
It became worse after her brother Tim’s wife, Layne, had their firstborn, Michael, in December of 1972. Then, Linda found out only a couple of months later that she was expecting a third child who would be born in November.
Why not us?
She found comfort in a verse of Scripture, John 16:24. “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” Asking God for her joy to be full, became our prayer. Only a few months later, Patsy knew that she was carrying our firstborn.
As pastor of Jefferson Baptist Church in Jefferson, South Carolina, this became every member’s baby. It was not surprising, then, that Kristin decided to come on Sunday. Early in the morning, I had to call a deacon to say that it was too late to ask someone to preach for me, so they would have to dismiss everyone after Sunday School. This meant that EVERYONE knew that we were at the hospital. No cell phones then, but we received many calls as we were waiting for the main labor to come.
Late in the afternoon, Kristin Michelle entered the world bringing “full joy” to Patsy and me.
Oh, I didn’t tell you about our conversation the night before. Being in a small church, as pastor, I was also in charge of printing the bulletin. I brought Patsy a copy and showed her the picture of a little girl praying, and the caption which read, TEACH US TO PRAY followed by the verse “ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
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