A precious miracle called Noel :)

I am pretty sure that most of us, have at least once wished we could experience a miracle. We all want to experience something amazing and inexplicable. Because after all that's what defines a miracle right? Dictionary.com desceibes a miracle as an event not ascribable to human power. I want to admit that not only have I wished on witnessing a miracle, I have also written it in my "100 things I want to do before I die" list. Today I write this blog, because I am able to say that I have crossed it off my list. I do not know how many people in life will get to say this, but I am blessed to say I have experienced a miracle. 

With this post as I have titled it "A precious miracle called Noel", I want to share about my own experience in the life of a little princess called Noel. Everything around this little girl has impacted my life in ways I never imagined, and it is thanks to her faithful parents and their love for Christ that I was able to experience the miracle that NOEL is.

To give you a long story short, right about the time Noel's parents found out the sex of their baby, they also found out that their precious little girl came with complications. After tests and more test, Noel's parents found the devastating news that their little girl would not have a normal life if she survived after birth. I am not going to try and explain medically what was going on in Noel's little body, but I do understand it was something that was affecting her heart. Doctors gave Noel's parents different alternatives, but they chose the best one they could ever have chosen. They chose to trust God.

Knowing that doctors did not expect Noel to live past birth, her parents chose to place Noel's life in Him who so fearfully and wonderfully made her! Psalm 139:14 quickly became Noel's verse and one that we all who prayed for her had present in our hearts. Noel's parents decided to battle her condition with prayer and I have to say to this day I am amazed at the way people came together for this special little girl. In the midst of all the chaos and heartache the Lord sustained Noel's parents and her entire family through the full 9 months of pregnancy and the next days to come. 

Noel was born and to everyones surprise and the doctors own astonishment, she lived way past birth. Noel beat the odds and lived for 15 days! To you 15 days might seem like a very short time, but for a baby girl who was not supposed to survive after birth, 15 days was a long time. In this 15 days and through the life of Noel, I was able to experience a miracle. The miracle of life and the amazing power of prayer. I cannot begin to describe how overwhelming those 15 days that Noel lived were in my own life and I cannot imagine how those days were for her parents. But one thing I do know is that God was glorified in such a way, so powerfully and beautifully! Through their decision of sharing their story, Noel's parents allowed God to shine through Noel. When you allow for that, great things happen!

In my own personal side of the story, as I shared Noel's story and asked for prayer, I saw people being drawn in. Some drawn to Jesus for the first time and others returning! People were curious to see what would happen with Noel, so they kept up with my updates and through every day that she lived, they felt encouraged. As the faithfulness of her parents was shared, some couldn't help but to want to know what was it that was keeping them so hopeful. It was Jesus! His promises and the way He was shining through Noel was just amazing! So many people came together in the name of Jesus for one little girl and God worked wonders. I had the privilege of being at the hospital when Noel was born and I was amazed at how many people were there. I come from a big mexican family, so for me to say there were a lot of people there, you can just imagine how many! 

I had the privilege to hold Noel in my arms when she was born and I cannot being to describe the amazing feeling that was! So tiny, yet so perfectly made. So delicate and precious yet so strong and courageous! Through her dark brown eyes you could see a shining light and through her gestures you could see and angel's smile. God was shining through Noel in such a powerful way that when I held her I felt His presence. I felt His love, his warmth, His care and His greatness, all in one very little but so precious baby girl.

Today Noel would have been 1 years old. And though I write this post to share her story in honor of her birthday, I also write it to say thank you to her parents. Thank you for sharing your story with me, thank you for sharing your precious baby girl with me. Thank you for showing me how to be faithful and persevere in prayer. Thank you for showing me what being courageous and stepping out in faith is. Thank you for showing me what trusting in God looks like. I know for a fact but yet I cannot even imagine how hard this year has been for you. Even through your faithfulness I know there is heartache. Even through your courage, there are tears, and even through your trusting in God there's a daily struggle to keep going. But regardless of all that, you are still standing strong in the Lord and you keep inspiring so many people. I think about Noel so much and I get so excited when I get to share her story. I see her pictures all the time and I always smile knowing what a great life she had and is having with our Lord. I pray that you will continue to be strengthened and I cant wait for the day that you both will be reunited with your precious baby girl. 

Noel might not be on this earth any more, but she is living through all of us that love her. She keeps shining just like Jesus! I am so thankful today that I get to write this for her. Noel you will live through me always! And one last thing I want to say thank you for to Noel's parents is...

Thank you for allowing me to witness a miracle, your precious little miracle Noel.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together 

in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 

Psalm 139:13-14

A heart that beats for Jesus

This post is rather different from what I usually write about. I mostly share my rejoicing heart as God brings me through battles and I get to see His wonderful works. I love sharing testimony of His greatness and how Jesus fills my heart so amazingly. Yet there is a battle I will always be in, and one that I am willing to fight until the end of my days. That is the fight of bringing people to Jesus, to know of His love and to surrender their lives to the One who gave it all at the cross for you and me!

As I came to Christ and trying different ministries at my home church, I found my calling in prayer. I learned the importance of prayer as it is our way to communicate with God and have that amazing relationship with Him grow and be strengthen. I've learned that is not a way to get our needs met, but rather with prayer we get answers from Him and learn of His will for our lives. I get to talk to Him about anything, I get to sing to Him through worship, I get to share my heart's desires and I even get to cry out to Him. In return, Jesus hears me, He gives me counsel, He shows me His ways and in the troubled times, He holds me and He comforts me. I also get to confess to Him my sin and He forgives me, I get to praise Him and He smiles, and I get to mediate on His word and He speaks to me. But the most beautiful thing that happens in prayer is that I get to pray for others, I get to intercede for them in their needs, their hurts, their struggles but also rejoice in their victories through an answered prayer.

When I say this is the most beautiful part of prayer for me, I say this because I have found that as I intercede for others Jesus shows me many things. He shows me how He views others, how He loves them, how He can help them overcome, how He desires to help them, but what mostly touches me is when He shows me how much He hurts for them. When Jesus shares a piece of His heart and shows me what lies inside for all of us, thats when I know that I am willing to fight for Him for others. I see the greatness that can come from Him and what some people's lives can become if they would only turn to Him. I see Him hurting as many of us take it upon ourselves to find punishment and self condemnation for the sins He already paid for us IN FULL and the cross! 

He desires for all to come to know Him and He helps all of us who want to follow His commandment and make disciples of all nations. He shows us through prayer a piece of His heart. As I decided to follow Jesus, I gave Him my heart and through the relationship I have with Him, we are able to share many things. I do not however, know every detail, neither do I have answers to everything, much less fully understand His love and how He hurts, but the little that He shares with me, is enough to understand Him and what lies in someone else's heart.

See, it doesn't matter the struggle that you are in, the fact is more than likely you are hurting, and Jesus hurts too. He hurts when He sees what you can become and refuse to become. He hurts when He has the answer waiting for your struggles and He has to wait for you to want them, because you wont receive them from Him. He hurts when He sees others hurt you and cannot do anything about it because you are not interested in Him fighting for you. And through all of this, as those that pray in intercession for others, Jesus shares His heart. But this doesn't make us anything special, it only allows us to understand what you might be going through. Personally I am able to put myself in people's shoes and feel their pain without knowing details of their lives or what they might be going through. I am able to honestly say "I get it" and "I understand" and truly identify with the pain I once faced in my own struggles.

One of the hardest things I have encountered however in my time of intercession and trying to help others, is being pushed away from someone's life. I doesn't only mean a person pushing me out of their life but also loosing contact with a person for any given circumstance or seeing a progress and then a previous path gets taken, and everything that was worked for seems pointless. Time and time I've felt discouraged at this, yet I refuse to stop believing that things can change for everyone and that there is hope regardless of a situation or circumstance. God can bring us through the hardest most impossible battles, yet I must understand that this will be at His timing and not mine. Most importantly, I must accept that God can use me to plan seeds and share His love, but I am not always going to see those seeds grow, or see the final outcome of another person's struggle. Yet I can trust in Him and trust every situation and every person in His hands, knowing that sooner or later my prayers of intercession will be answered. 

For all that I've talked about in this post and as I have shared in giving my heart to Jesus and in return Him sharing a piece of His heart with me, I have titled this post. Today I hold a heart that beats for Jesus, and I pray that my heart not only continues to beat for Him but also works for Him and share with others of His love. 

I want to encourage all those prayer warriors out there, to not loose hope and to keep fighting along side all whom Christ has called in the front line. To be courageous and not step down from this battle of others knowing the love of Christ. To know that God uses every little bit of effort we put into sharing His love and uses every single prayer in great power. And for those people who know they are  being prayed for and/or have been shared the love of Christ, but have not accepted it... I ask when will you? What is stopping you? Don't be afraid! Jesus is waiting with open arms to receive you and care for you. He is waiting to change your heart and win those struggles for you. And He wants you to know that you are not alone, that there is a church full of people who you can call brothers and sisters who have, are facing and will face the same struggles. People whom Jesus shares His heart with and shows them not only how to help you and understand you but also how to love you. But most importantly, Jesus is anxiously waiting to share His heart with you and pour out His love for you! Will you allow Him to do that? I promise the rewards are endless...

I pray that we will all one day have a heart that beats for Jesus!