Ozella Johe’s Birth Story

Ozella Johe was my very first baby. To say I was uneducated and unprepared for birth would be an understatement. When my due date rolled around, I was surprised that I had not had her yet. Come to find out, she’d be one of my earliest births. At 4o weeks and 4 days, I went to a doctor’s appointment where I was .5cm dilated. That day was June 15, 2020 which was also my first anniversary. My doctor asked if I’d like a membrane sweep which could help induce labor and I agreed. It was extremely painful, but nothing compared to what was to come in labor! Matt and I had an anniversary lunch at P.F Chang’s where I cried about my discouragement that I had not had a baby yet.

The next morning I woke up around 4am. I wasn’t totally sure why I woke up but I knew that something had caused me to wake up. I fell back asleep and had contractions far apart until 8am. At this point, COVID restrictions were at an all time high. Everyone had to be tested before coming into the hospital. I was scheduled for an induction at 41 weeks so they asked me to come in and be COVID tested before we came for the induction. So even though I was sure I was in the early stages of labor, I drove over to the hospital at 9am to do a nose swab. I told the nurse who did the swab that I would be back later that day to have a baby. She didn’t believe me.

By the time I made it back home, I was sure I was in labor. The contractions were consistent and I was handling them well. I was still very early in the labor process but I didn’t know what was to come. I got in the bathtub and was praying about knowing when to head to the hospital. I asked the Lord to help me know when it was the right time to go in. When I stood up from the bath, my water broke. The Lord answers prayer. We put a towel between my legs, grabbed our bags, and headed in. On the way there, Matt asked if I was still committed to an unmedicated birth and I said yes. I’m grateful he confirmed this with me and honored my desires.

My contractions were still fairly mild at this point and when we checked in at the hospital they checked my dilation. I was at 4cm. It was a very busy day at this particular hospital so we ended up staying in triage for the next seven hours. I was leaking fluid, using the bathroom, and laboring through intense contractions all in a public place. It was miserable. I remember at one point I stopped caring about putting my shoes on. Matt said that’s when he knew I was in deep. Around 7pm, they finally allowed me into a birthing room. I was 8cm dilated and in the most horrendous and excruciating pain I’ve ever been in. That’s what happens when you have no education and no support. Now that I’m a doula, I look back and cannot believe I made it through this labor unmedicated.

I spiked a fever at this point and they were concerned about infection because my water had been broken for awhile but it turned out to be nothing. I was laboring on my back in bed for the final two hours of my labor. I just kept singing Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me by CityAlight in my head. Finally, I hit 10cm and the doctor came in so I could start pushing. I push for 20 minutes, the entire time I’m thinking “I cannot do this, this baby is not coming out.” My first push, I ripped my feet out of the nurse’s hands and kick my doctor into the cabinets behind him. He told me that I had to do this, I had no choice. That was the motivation I needed. When Ozella’s head came out, her body quickly followed. She cried immediately and was placed on my chest. This was one of the most sacred moments of my life. I watched the Lord breathe life into my daughter as she emerged and yelled “Breath of life! Breath of life!”

That experience is what made me want to become a doula. I saw the importance of having support and education regarding the birth process. Ozella’s birth continues to top the charts as one of mine and Matt’s most joyous moments in all of our marriage. We feel immensely grateful to get to be her parents.

Ozella Johe was born on June 16, 2020 at 9pm. Labor with her lasted 12 hours. She was 7lbs 5oz and nursed immediately.

Grace upon grace. Soli Deo gloria!

Elijah Theodore’s Birth Story

I was a week over due and had been sick/having prodromal labor for around two weeks. I was planning to have Elijah in the hospital so I was under the care of a doctor who was really pushing for me to be induced at 41 weeks, as is standard practice in our area. There was another round of COVID hitting and hospitals were on pretty strict restrictions for visitors, even for labor and delivery. Mothers were only allowed one visitor in the hospital. Matt and I didn’t mind the restrictions though because we planned for it to only be the two of us anyways.

On November 23, 2021, we made the decision to go into the hospital to be induced. I was tired and had been sick for such a long time that both Matt and I thought it would be best to go for the induction. We got a call around 7am that we could come in. I slept a bit longer and then we arrived at the hospital around 9am. Initially, we were told they actually didn’t have space for us and we would need to go home but by God’s grace they allowed us into a room and got us set up. We had a wonderful nurse who ended up staying with me for the duration of my labor.

The doctor came to our room and offered two options; Pitocin or to break my water. I was already 4cm dilated when I got to the hospital so we opted for her to break my water. I had many requests for this birth including no IV hook ups and intermittent monitoring. My medical team worked to provide me with all of my requests. To this day, Eli’s birth is the best hospital birth I’ve seen. After the doctor broke my water at around 11am, contractions and progress were slow moving. It also became obvious that there was meconium in his water and that created a more intense time clock. I definitely felt the pressure to “get going” because the next step was Pitocin and I really wanted as little intervention as possible. At around 2:15pm, I still wasn’t in active labor and the threat of medication was looming. I got up to go to the bathroom feeling pretty discouraged about how little had happened. I sat on the toilet and was immediately hit with a big and real contraction. As soon as that first contraction hit, we were off to the races. I sat on the toilet for a few contractions but they were quickly becoming intense. At this point, I am still not really aware of how to cope properly during labor so I am feeling completely overwhelmed by how painful the contractions are. I stand at the sink in the hospital room for awhile before the pressure becomes too intense and my nurse helps me back to the bed.

I was feeling a ton of pressure by this point but that’s only because Eli was already so low in my pelvis to start with. Things were progressing very quickly but I was discouraged when my nurse told me I was only 6cm dilated. I shouldn’t have been discouraged though because I moved from 6cm to 10cm in the next fifteen minutes and then it was time to push. The OB came in for delivery while they transformed the room around me. I was in so much pain, I just wanted him out. With the okay from my doctor, I started to push on my right side. The doctor massaged my perineum as a I pushed which I didn’t enjoy but then I decided to roll to my back which was excruciating so I rolled to my left side where I stayed. As soon as I started to move, the doctor took her hands off of me. I pushed one final time and his head and all the rest of him came out in one big gush. The song “Though You Slay Me” by Shane & Shane played as he was born which seemed fitting for the moment. He cried immediately and they brought him straight to my chest. The doctor allowed me to wait until I started contracting again to push the placenta out which is such a rarity in the hospital.

Elijah Theodore was born on November 23, 2021 at 4pm, 1 hour and 15 minutes after labor began. He was 7lbs 12oz with gigantic blue eyes. His birth, although not what I necessarily planned, was exactly what the Lord had for us.

He is a precious gift and continues to bring immense joy to our home.

Soli Deo gloria!

Josie Johe’s Birth Story

On Friday January 24th, I started to feel like I wanted Josie to come. I was three days overdue and although I wasn’t miserable, I just felt the desire to have her. I texted my midwife to discuss taking castor oil because that was our plan for when I hit 41 weeks anyways (Noble’s size of 11lbs made us decide to try to induce earlier than we normally would). My midwife ended up being really sick on Friday and Saturday so I held off a bit longer.

Sunday around lunch time I started to get antsy so I texted my midwife again. She gave me the go ahead and I took my first two tablespoons of castor oil at 2:30pm. I took another two tablespoons at 3:30pm. It didn’t taste terrible and it didn’t make me feel sick, thank you Lord! I left my kids with my mom anticipating that the castor oil would induce labor and I went home to do some laundry. As I folded laundry, my Braxton Hicks contractions continued to become more frequent and predictable but I still wasn’t in any pain and couldn’t tell whether it was going to grow in intensity or if it was just a false alarm.

Matt went to a deacon meeting about 4:45pm and when he returned at 6:30pm I had just gotten up to pee. As soon as he walked in the room, my first real contraction hit. It was almost like my body recognized he was home and that was the trigger to put me into full blown labor. Having had three other babies, I knew this was the real deal. I texted my midwife at 6:30pm that she should head my way. She lives in Fresno, about two hours away, so even though she left immediately, it would be awhile before she arrived.

After that first contraction they only increased in frequency and intensity. I turned on all my tea lights, started music, and started the diffuser during the first three contractions where I was still able to function. Then I hopped in my bathtub for some relief. We were only a few minutes into labor by this point but it was becoming obvious to both Matt and I that it was going to go fast and that our midwife would likely not make it. I remember listening to Jesus Strong and Kind by City Alight in this “early stage” and being comforted by the fact that those words, strong and kind, described the God that would carry me through my labor.

I labored through a few contractions in the tub and then decided I’d get out and lay on my bed. I thought maybe I could relax there while Matt rubbed my back. I clearly didn’t fully grasp how far along I was in the process. Once I got to my bed, I threw myself down and just laid there like a lump. I was past the point of moving into interesting or comforting positions and fully in transition (the final stage of contractions before pushing). I was vocalizing through each contraction while being fully aware that pressure was mounting and I was getting close to having a baby. I was praying through each contraction and reminding myself of the truth that the Lord was with me through this suffering.

At one point, I told Matt “I don’t want to do this,” a stark difference from my previous births where I thought or said “I can’t.” He encouraged me that even though I didn’t want to in that moment, I absolutely could do it. I told him “You’re right, I can do this and I’m going to do this!” And then a huge wave of pressure hit and I knew he needed to fill up the birthing tub. He rushed to get the hose in the pool and start filling and then get back to me to help me cope with the next contraction.

I moved to the tub and right when I stepped in, I realized the water was too hot but it didn’t matter because the next contraction hit and I dropped to my knees on the little seat in the pool. Right at that moment, my water broke and Matt got the temperature under control. The next contraction, I felt her start to crown and told Matt to get our midwife on the phone. The next contraction her head came out and one contraction later, her body followed. When it came time to push, I initially started to bear down along with the contraction but then I wondered what would happen if I just relaxed and allowed my body to do what it was made to do. By God’s perfect design, my body pushed her out without additional effort from me. When she came out, Matt lifted her right onto my chest and she cried immediately. She was perfect, she is perfect. We waited an hour in the tub while our midwife drove the rest of the way to our house. She clamped the cord and Matt cut it, as he has done with all our babies. Then we snuggled up in bed and spent the rest of the evening marveling at what the Lord had done.

Josie Johe was born at 7:30pm on January 26th, 2025, exactly one hour after my labor began. Matt and I were the only people present for her birth. I think if you had asked me to write my perfect birth, I couldn’t have even written a birth as perfect as her’s. For the first time in all four of my births, I felt in control throughout the whole thing. It was really special to pull from my experience as a doula, to remember the births of some of my incredible clients as I labored. I knew where I was in the process throughout, and even more than the knowledge of the biology of what was happening, I knew the Lord would see me through.

When I prayed for this birth, I prayed for health and safety, for Josie’s size. I prayed that it would honor the Lord and that it would be somewhat quick. The Lord provided far above what I asked for. He knew the desires of my heart without me even speaking them and he gave them to me. It was a perfect birth. It was one of the most special moments of all of my life. I cannot express the joy we feel over this precious gift.

My midwife said that Matt goes down as the calmest dad she’s ever had deliver a baby. He was the best birth partner I could have ever asked for. He has earned the title Daddy Doula. But it is a surprise to no one that knows him that he did so well. He is an incredible dad, an exceptional husband, and a dang good deliverer of babies. Every day I grow in greater gratitude that the Lord gave me him, this day was no exception.

It is all God’s grace. Soli Deo gloria.

Untethered From the Father

When You Want To Create A Spiritually Healthy Home

When You Love Those That Are Different From You

When the Character of God Seems Confusing

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Proverbs 9:10

A Matter of Priorities

Be Still Magazine Issue 31

Through Agony, Comes Forth Life

Am I A Good Mom?

From Olive to Oil Podcast

Through Agony, Comes Life with Savannah Richey

He Gives to His Beloved Sleep

It was two o’clock in the morning and my newborn was asleep in the bassinet next to me. Most of the time, a newborn sleeping is cause for celebration and slumber but on this particular night, fears about my son’s life plagued my mind. You see, a few days prior, my sweet baby was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. He had stopped breathing and passed out, seemingly inexplicably. It turns out that he had a breath holding spell. Basically, he was startled by something and his body’s fight or flight response kicked in and he held his breath. By God’s grace, he is okay and there are no long term issues because of this temporary loss of oxygen, but the picture of my three-week-old, sheet-white, in the back of an ambulance is forever burned in my brain. So at two o’clock, I could feel the trauma from the experience that was wreaking havoc on my mental and physical health. On this particular night, I was up, yet again, worried about what would happen if I went to sleep.

In God’s divine providence, I stumbled across Psalm 127. The Psalm is short so reading it just a few times was enough to commit it to memory. The first two verses are what I needed in that panicked moment and what I’ve needed in every moment of late-night anxiety since. The Psalmist says:

“Unless the LORD builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (ESV)

These two verses provide us with practical hope for trusting in God. Just as the Lord is the one who builds the house and watches over the city, the Lord is the one who sustains the life of my child and yours. I remember wrestling with this reality when I brought my first baby home. I wondered “If I go to sleep, who will make sure my daughter is still breathing?” I only had two options: never sleep again, or trust the Lord to give or take her breath. In other words, trust God or pine in futility for control I don’t have. My trust in him was not rooted in whether or not he would keep her breathing, but whether I believed he was good no matter what happened while I slept.

The difference I found with my son was that although I thought I had already relinquished my need for control, when my tiny baby actually had no breath in his lungs, the reality of my inability to sustain his life hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized with tears in my eyes the truth of verse one:

Unless the Lord keeps my child alive, I labor in vain. Unless the Lord heals the illness, changes your circumstances, provides for your finances… then you labor in vain.

At first, this reality is scary. If I could control everything, then nothing would go wrong, right? It is easy to think we know better than God, but if we contemplate for a moment our own finitude, I am sure our response will be different. The control we desire is not what we really want. We don’t want the oceans to bow at our command, we don’t want to have to make the world spin. We don’t even want to solve the problem in front of us because God’s reason for that problem is truly better than the solution we would provide. [1] Even if we think we want that power in the moment, if we believe in God’s perfection, we would never trade our faulty abilities for his holy ones. Truthfully, I have the small task of making our house run smoothly and somehow I am still overwhelmed. Imagine all that would go wrong if I were in charge of everything else! God is God for a reason. He builds the house, he watches over the city. Because God does these things, the result is what we so desperately need:

“For he gives to his beloved sleep.”

So as I looked at my sweet baby and wondered about his health, obsessively Googling his breathing patterns, and working myself into an all out panic, I was reminded of Psalm 127, he gives to his beloved sleep. Rest is contingent upon trust in the Lord. I am that beloved, I am the one who eats the bread of anxious toil. But I don’t have to. We have been given the precious gift of rest as we trust in an abundantly worthy God. If you are desperate for sleep, if anxiety has kept you up, if you are eating that anxious bread day and night, come to the Lord. He is worthy of our trust. He is the Author and Sustainer and the very best news is that he cares about you. He keeps the world spinning and he gives you rest. Lean on him, for he gives to his beloved sleep.

[1] Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 139:6, Jeremiah 10:12

All The Things I Wouldn’t Know

"Did you think it would be like this?"

The question hangs between us as flashes of the expectations I had for motherhood swirl in my brain. This is the third time this week my grandma has dropped off dinner for us. When I considered what it would be like to have children, I thought of snuggles and baby babbles and first words. I daydreamed of beach trips and pretty swaddles and soft skin—the stuff of a baby boutique ad. None of those daydreams included projectile vomit, ER visits, or missing Christmas with my family. Call it naivety, which it may have been, but I also think I really couldn't prepare for what I didn't know was to come.

No, I didn't think it would be like this. I had not even considered that my son's first two months of life would be spent with us quarantined from severe respiratory illnesses. I never thought my husband’s eight weeks of paternity leave would be a never-ending cycle of fevers and late nights, early mornings, snot-sucking, and humidifiers. I certainly did not consider how our church nursery would be the perfect incubator for every seasonal illness available. Like I said, maybe it was naive of me, but when my sweet grandmother asked the question, my answer was a resounding, "No, I didn't think it would be like this."

I have mourned the many ways I thought motherhood would look. Certainly, this season is God’s gracious gift to me—full of love, joy, and heart-melting moments. Yet who knew it would also be far more messy and far more tedious than what I saw on Instagram? There are so many things I didn't know, but what's more profound are all the things I wouldn't know now if I never encountered the sickness that comes with having tiny children:

1. The intense love of the church for her people.

Sickness opened the door for me to experience the beauty of the church like I hadn’t before. In those extremely tender moments, I saw firsthand how the body of believers prays, comforts, and offers tangible support to those who need it. A text. A meal delivered. Babysitting despite fevers because they know we have reached our limits. Love like this is deeply sacrificial and representative of the love of Christ. Without illness, I may have never known this love.

2. My need to trust Christ with my children's lives.

Seeing my son without breath in his lungs brought me to terms with my own inability to sustain his life. All the control I thought I had was quickly stripped from me when I had no power to take away his suffering. I have never felt so helpless, but I have also never been so strengthened by the Lord. Those moments of immense weakness showed me that Christ's sustaining power for my life and the lives of my children is so much better than the facade of control I lived in before having babies.

3. The sufficiency of the Lord to sustain me.

In the moments when I really thought I could not go on—whether that was due to my own illness, sleepless nights, postpartum fog, or the thousands of other things going on in those days—the Lord always kept me going. I think this is the time when I truly learned the reality of God's mercies being new every morning.[1] Through illness, God taught me that his grace is sufficient for me, and his power is made perfect in weakness[2]—not just in theory but in the real, hard, tiring moments of life. He used unprecedented seasons of illness in our home to refine me and to cause me to trust him. Despite how it may feel, at the end of myself, and my own abilities, is a really good place to be.

4. The hope and fullness of heaven.

Finally, prolonged family illnesses have caused me to long for heaven in new ways. I ache for the days when I don't have to hold my hair back while I puke into the toilet or when the anxiety of my children's health is not even a consideration. I cannot wait for my own responses to be those that always glorify God—to never be angry when I'm inconvenienced or fearful because of my circumstances. I look forward to being fully made into Christ's image, and I know that the work the Spirit is doing in me through these earthly hardships is transforming me from one degree of glory to the next.[3]

So no, I didn't think it would be this way. I didn't think flus and fevers would consume so much of my time and energy, but I also had no concept for all that motherhood would teach me. I didn't know the ways that my picture-perfect dreams would be insufficient for my sanctification. But God did. The Lord knew all that I would encounter in motherhood, and he knew his sustaining power in ambulance rides and all-nighters would be molding me into a more worthy vessel for his glory. In some ways, I mourn the ideals I once held, but I am so grateful to now know all the things I wouldn't have known without these unexpected hardships. Amidst all the ups and downs, God faithfully uses these motherhood moments to make us more like Christ.

[1] Lamentations 3:22-23

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:9

[3] 2 Corinthians 3:18

Noble Elliott’s Birth Story

Noble Elliott Williams born on June 13, 2023 weighing 11lbs 1oz and 22 inches.

I was 10 days past my due date when I woke up from a nap around 8:30pm. I didn’t feel great but I wasn’t sure that meant labor was coming. I finished reading a book I had started and spent some time in prayer. I had actively been praying for Noble’s birth since he was conceived but I realized that night that although I had prayed the Lord would bring him, I had never had an uninterrupted birth (membrane sweep with Ozella & artificial rupture of membranes with Eli). So despite being educated regarding birth and trusting the medical team I had, I was nervous that maybe the Lord would not bring Noble into the world without intervention. So in the dark of Monday night, I prayed and surrendered my labor and my boy to God.

I quickly began to feel sick and contractions became regular and a bit more intense but very manageable. I had Eli in less than two hours so I knew it was important that I let my midwives know as soon as I had any indication labor was coming because they were heading to my house from Fresno, about a two hour drive. We had a home water birth planned. Around midnight, I texted both of my midwives and my mom to let them know that I believed I was in early labor. My mom headed over to pick up the kids and my midwives headed to my house. I let Matt sleep for awhile as I worked through the mild contractions and then woke him up when my mom arrived to help me get the kids to her car. Once he was up, he set up my birth pool in the middle of our living room over a big plastic tarp while I labored through the contractions. I started puking which is normal for me in early labor. My midwives arrived around 2:30am. I was coping really well in the shower, in my bed, on the birth ball, standing etc. Matt was an amazing birth partner and worked with me as the waves passed. I was checked for dilation three times; five, seven, and nine centimeters. All the way through nine centimeters, I was loving my birth experience. I actually looked at my midwives and said I was having fun! My other two births were nothing like this and I wondered if it was really possible to birth this peacefully.

Around nine centimeters, my water broke. Within the hour, my body started to push. I felt like I desperately needed to get him out as the pushing became more and more and more intense with very little progress of him actually crowning. This is when I started to panic. My body was pushing so hard yet he was not coming out. I was pushing along with my body, he still wasn’t coming out. In my bed, in the shower, in the birthing pool, I pushed for an hour and a half without him progressing. With my other two babies, I pushed for twenty minutes and then maybe four minutes, I could tell there was something off about this time. Finally, my midwife told me I needed to stand up out of the pool with one leg up. As soon as I stood, a wave of contractions hit me so hard Matt had to hold me up. Noble’s head emerged and I had this overwhelming sense of relief because once the head exits, everything else is supposed to follow quickly. Everything did not follow quickly. My skilled midwives quickly realized that not only was Noble stuck at the chest, his very short umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his neck keeping him from descending any further out of the canal. The cord was wrapped so tightly it was as thin as a pencil. One of the midwives jumped into action working to get him out. The other midwife and Matt lifted me up off the ground and out of the pool so the first midwife could get underneath me. She rotated Noble in the birth canal so the cord unwrapped and they were able to slip it over his head so he could fully descend out of the canal. I collapsed immediately into the pool and he was laid on my chest. He was purple and not yet breathing so I gave him air through his mouth and then we utilized a mask to get air into his lungs. He started breathing and quickly turned pink. My contractions had not stopped despite him coming out so I was still in excruciating pain. My placenta was very large to fuel an even larger baby and it was not detaching. My body continued to contract so we cut the cord and I turned over and had to push what felt like another baby out. Once the placenta finally came out my body stopped with such intense contractions. I was able to get into my bathtub with Noble. He nursed right away and has latched perfectly ever since.

We relaxed awhile and then moved into my bedroom where we found out he was 11lbs 1oz. My two other babies were 7lbs 5oz and 7lbs 12oz. Needless to say we were all absolutely shocked that Noble was as big as he is.

There are a lot of things I could say about this birth. It was not uncomplicated. It was harder than my two other births by far. But I would not change one single thing about the choices we made throughout the process. I am so grateful for skilled midwives, a supportive husband, and a God who has designed beautiful bodies to bring life into this world. It was an amazing experience and if the Lord blesses us with more children, home births forever. Even when Noble was stuck and then not breathing, I was never afraid. Part of that was due to the pain I was in, part of it was due to the fact that I knew we were in wonderful hands and the Lord was sovereign over every breath Noble and I took.

In regards to recovery, my body is in more pain than with my other babies but NO stitches or tearing!! After birth contractions are no joke the third time around. Noble is a sweet and calm baby. He eats and sleeps great and really doesn’t complain. I am loving every moment with him.

God’s kindness abounds in the bringing forth of life. Birth never ceases to amaze me.

This song played during my labor and I couldn’t help but weep as I thought about the wonder of being a mother.

The Tension Of Knowledge And Experience, Carpool Theology

You can listen to my guest appearance on Carpool Theology here.

Midwestern Magazine Issue 45

Finding Joy in Everyday Life by Haylee J Williams

The Daily Grace Co Magazine Issue 26

Issue 26

Hope for the Christian Who Feels She Can Never Walk in Purity

The definition of the word purity is the "freedom from contamination or adulteration[1]." In the biblical sense of the word, the contamination that keeps a person from purity is sin or unrighteousness. It is normal for us to struggle to be pure in heart because purity does not come naturally to humanity. In fact, we curve in the opposite direction. Jeremiah pulls no punches when letting Israel know the true state of their hearts. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) In stark contrast, 1 Samuel 2:2 says "There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God." In these two verses, we find the greatest issue for humanity: human depravity and the holiness of the Lord. God is pure, holy, and good. We are desperately evil and sick. This can be a truly disheartening reality because of the gigantic chasm that lies between us and God. Sometimes holiness feels like an impossible standard to accomplish. But we have great hope.

Idol Factories

Our Lord gives abundantly to all of creation. Jesus himself speaks of the Father giving good gifts in Matthew 7:11 "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"  This means that every day, we are all living in a world of good gifts. Many of us have homes, families, cars, and infinitely more. These are good things. They bring us joy and in many ways, help us to serve Christ.

But sometimes, we are unknowingly offering sacrifices and worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. Because these gifts are good and bring us much joy, we elevate them to sit on the throne of our hearts and in so doing, sin against the Lord. We tend to let our guard down for how these things may manifest themselves as idols within us.