Storyline Fall 2020

us about how big our God is and how He’s
at work in a place like Phuket. On the trip,
we asked ourselves if this was it – if God was
going to call us to something more long-term
overseas. We were open, but didn’t sense
that was our next step.
Then one evening, Sara, one of the team
members, pulled us aside for a private
conversation with the 2 of us. She tentatively
shared that she'd had a dream that she was
babysitting our child. God imprinted Exodus
23:26 on her heart: “ … and none will miscarry
or be barren in your land. I will give you a full
lifespan.” She knew our circumstances with
not having kids, and didn’t know what this
was supposed to mean for us, but she felt a
responsibility to share this with us. We didn’t
really know how to respond; we were in a
place of being at such peace with not having
kids. But we thanked her, and knew we had
to sit with this for a while.
Well, life got busy returning home after the
trip; we sort of forgot about the dream (or
at least it was on the back-burner of our
minds). Fast-forward to July, and I found out I
was pregnant. Let me tell you, I was in shock!
I suppose I shouldn’t have been, considering
Sara’s dream – but there I was, totally in
shock. When you’ve conditioned your mind
and heart to be okay with one reality and
suddenly without warning it changes, it’s a
bit hard to let it sink in! I told Carter and he
was so happy. The happiness for me sunk in
once it became more real to me.
Teagan was born March 4, 2020 – right
before all the COVID-19 self-isolation and
quarantine restrictions came into effect in
Calgary, so we’re super thankful for God’s
timing in her arrival which allowed not only
Carter to be with me during her birth but
also my mom from Ontario. Now she is
nearly 8 months old and absolutely thriving,
and we couldn’t imagine life without her.
But here’s the thing … If God chose not to
give us Teagan, we would’ve been okay. You
see, God shifted our hearts so our greatest
desire became to simply follow Jesus’ lead
in our marriage and in our lives. I know full
well there are people who will never get the
thing they cry out to God for, and that’s hard.
But I truly believe God can take our cries
for a spouse, or children, more finances, or
whatever it is we desire – and transform it
into simply wanting more of Him. Like the
lyrics of the old chorus: “Turn your eyes
upon Jesus / Look full in His wonderful face
/ And the things of earth will grow strangely
dim / In the light of His glory and grace.”
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient
for you, for My power is made perfect in
weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s
power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Julie McPhail
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