Week 28—7 Months | The Flood of Encouragement

Ethan, Ryan and I would like to thank all of you for the encouraging emails, letters, phone calls, cards, hugs, visits and comments we have received on our blog. We know we have prayers as far north as Duluth, MN and as far east as Germany. It is encouraging to know how far and how close (like our neighbors) we are to a loving and supporting network of family and friends. We have had many people testify how God used what seemed like a tragedy to be one of the greatest events in their life. It's amazing to me how God uses these times in our life to bring the glory to Himself. Through sharing our testimony of how Christ is working in our family, we have met many new people. Some just through emails and blog comments, though we hope to meet them all in person soon.

What amazed and encouraged me this week was an email reminding us how awesome God is and that we are being lifted in prayer. It wasn't all that different from other words of encouragement we have received, but God spoke to me through these words.

God said to me: I love you so much that I have surrounded you with a body of believers. I have surrounded you with ME.

This has encouraged me to know that we are not alone in our faith. That each of you who hold Christ in your heart are sharing Christ's love with us. That even if those who care about us can't relate to us with caring for a Trisomy 18 baby, you can relate to us through Jesus Christ. You understand our love for our Savior and lift us up. Thank you all for holding us and supporting us through this journey. May God in turn bless each of you richly.

Changes are Afoot
As many of you know we have been seeking God for direction on our work situation. We are excited to announce that Ethan will only have to commute downtown for another week—Ryan and I have turned in our resignation with our employer. We are leaning fully on God to continue to provide clients and work as He has already blessed us with the creative talents of writing, photography and design. Ryan and I are relieved by the stress that has been reduced and are excited to be freelancing from home. We look forward to enjoying sunlight, our home and our neighbors of whom we rarely see due to us being away from the house 12 hours a day. We are also thankful that this will give our family the flexibility that most do not have when expecting and caring for a newborn.

Week 26 | Hello My Name Is ...

Our little boy finally has a name: Ethan Jeremiah Klos. It’s amazing how much closer our bond has become with our baby now that he has a proper name. Ethan is a Hebrew name that means "strong." His middle name is from Jeremiah 1:5 when God is speaking to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Ethan is still our first baby, still our first pregnancy and is still a tremendous joy in our lives. Nothing can take that away, and so we’re enjoying every little kick, every milestone and every memory in the making. Photos are an integral part of the documentation of this time in our lives so keep checking back for the latest updates.

Monica and I have been learning a very valuable lesson this week: SURRENDER. The Lord has made it clear to us that our time here is not ours, nor are our worries or stresses. They are His and we need to turn them over to Him. The Lord wants to be in control of everything, every aspect of our lives—we just have to give it all to Him. But I think too often I’m only willing to give Him the keys—I never actually get out of the driver seat. “Just let me steer,” I say, “I know what I’m doing.” But He can do it better, and I know it. But instead of just surrendering, I keep my hands locked at ten and two and tell Him, “You can drive in a little bit.” This doesn’t look like the life of a man committed to Christ. Especially when “a little bit” never comes.

Through all our latest stresses and concerns with working downtown, preparing for Ethan’s birth, planning for what happens after his birth and trying to make sense of it all, we’re exhausted. But God has not forsaken us. He has been by our side every step of the way and we owe it to Him to get out of the driver seat and let him take full control. We cannot do this alone, and we know He can do it better. So as we try to loosen our grip on the things we cannot control, we pray that God would shine his mercy and grace upon us so that He may glorify Himself through our surrender.