To Glorify our Lord

We had our 16 week appointment on Tuesday, and everything went well. Dr. Kimmelman found baby's heartbeat as soon as she put the doppler to my tummy. Especially with the sick episodes lately, it was a breath of fresh air to hear that strong fast beat. We also set the date for big ultrasound: Sept. 28th at 9:30 am PST. We are praying for a healthy and immodest baby! Mostly healthy, but immodest will be very helpful for the nursery.

I must add that I starting writing this post on Wednesday, and as I go and read Kristi's latest, I learn that great minds think alike. Kinda freeeaaaakkky...
I have plenty of prayers for my child, prayers for health, prayers for happiness, and most of all prayers that s/he will find Christ early on in life and learn to depend on Him.
I pray that our child learns the Truth, we were designed to Glorify Him. I pray that s/he learns that the Ultimate Story we are apart of is something bigger than ourselves. But, a part we often forget is that in order to fully glorify Him, we are also called to love ourselves individually as He made us.
The first part is that we were created to give our lives back to Him and live for Him. We are not called to be ego-centric. It's refreshing to know we are a part of a Story bigger than ourselves. I pray my child knows s/he wasn't created to just enjoy what s/he can while alive, but that every life created has a bigger purpose, including this baby's. When we know this, we know that every individual, despite how it seems, is just as important and necessary as the next. Our Lord created nobody in vain. But, that does not mean individually we are just a small dot in a giant and holy Van Gogh.
The second part is that we are loved as individuals and as we are - more than we will ever know. He loves and knows our baby more than even we will ever know. He knows us and loves us so well that He even knows the number of hairs on each of our heads (despite belief or knowledge of Him, He knows every person better than anyone can know oneself. That is refreshing, because I lived a long time not knowing Him, but He loved me the all the same.)
Our names were written from the beginning of time, but He is the reason we are written and created. Knowing the importance of myself as an individual is something that took a lot of years, and external help to learn. And if I couldn't grasp that, I absolutely couldn't give my life back to the Lord. It is all apart of His Ultimate Story. It is all entangled. If we don't get one part of the picture, we can't get the other.
All of this is something that took so many tears, hopeless moments, and hedonistic days to understand, and it is something I am still learning. It's because of His Grace that I can even begin to understand this, and it is because of His Grace I can even begin to desire His glory. But, despite who I was, what I have done, or what I will do, He chose me, His Grace prevails and His Glory lives on.
I wish I could pass this knowledge and desire on to my child like my hair color, my southern Indiana accent (and Southern IN terms such as "doll baby" or "the farmer and the 'dale'") in order to save him/her from hurt and tears, but I know the process is just as much a part of His plan for my child as the product, so all I can do is (well, first, try not to hover) pray for my baby, and teach him/her the Truth and His purpose for us - to glorify our Lord.