The Certainty of God’s Plan

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. —Psalm 139:16, ESV

Memories of the events on the day my son Jordan was born still send a shiver through me. His delivery was normal, without any complications.

After the nurses were finished with him, they brought him to my room and placed him on my chest. He did not eat much, and after a while, we both fell asleep. Before I drifted off, I felt impressed to pull up the rails on the bed, so I did.

I am not sure how long I slept. I remember opening my eyes, feeling confused, and thinking, Where is Jordan? He was no longer on my chest.

The nurse must have taken him, I thought, even as my panicked mind raced while my eyes searched the room for answers. The icy chill of fear hit me when I realized the room held no answers. Suddenly, I sensed, rather than heard, a voice say, Look over the left side of the bed. My heart froze with terror. There he was—caught between the rail and the bed, dangling from his blanket as it slowly unraveled. In a daze, I felt myself slide off the bed onto my knees and slip my hands under his tiny body. I caught him before his blanket had fully unraveled. He was sucking on his thumb, still fast asleep, oblivious to the danger around him and unaware of how much Heaven was focused on him at this moment.

Between fervent whispers of “Thank You, God” and grateful tears, I gently wrapped him back in his warm cocoon and held him close until the nurse came to take him to the nursery. Fast-forward to this past winter. Jordan is thirty years old today.

I have watched him grow and mature into a remarkable young man and have not missed a chance to tell him that God was present at his birth and wants him to live.

God planned his existence before he was conceived, and his life is filled with God-designed possibilities. Surely, God was in my hospital room that day, as He has always been in our lives; He made it clear that He has a plan for Jordan.

Some would say what happened in my hospital room that night was pure luck. But I say the sequence of events was too precise to be mere coincidence.

Only He knows the value of those whom He creates for His purpose, those for whom He died and now lives. He is God, and He has a plan for everyone! What is His plan for you today?

Joan Dougherty-Mornan