“The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21 The words hung in my mind as I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours last night. I often wait and wait for sleep to come.  And just as often something will replay over and over and over again in my brain. (see my post here) Last night the hubs and I watched 19 Kids and Counting. I believe it was the newest episode. Michelle Duggar quoted the above verse several times and it stuck. Of course, it isn’t an obscure of difficult verse to understand. It has been quoted for centuries. The book of Job is famous. Job is someone we think of when we are faced with heavy and painful circumstances. Just when we think our lives couldn’t be any more burdensome, we think of Job.

I have a deep admiration and respect and, I will proclaim, love, for the Duggar family. I have watched them on TLC over the years and have vastly enjoyed watching their family grow, delighting in their neat children and witnessing their faith in Jesus lived out in their everyday lives. They are consistent, transparent and genuine. I feel like I know Michelle. Her momma’s heart speaks to my momma’s heart. I have prayed often for them over the years. So watching her weep last night over the loss of their 17 week unborn child (Jubilee Shalom) had me weeping right along with her and her family.

Something I appreciate about the Duggars is how much they value, cherish life. This wasn’t just a miscarriage to some unknown fetus. As gut wrenching as it is for expectant moms to experience miscarriages, they seem to be glossed over by society. The natural selection mentality. I enjoyed that the Duggars stopped to honor the life God gave little Jubilee. I appreciate how they acknowledged all of the joy little Jubilee brought to their family in the womb, before her death. Life is valuable to the Duggar family. Life at any stage. Life. Life given by the Lord.

So blessed be the name of the Lord! I pray that that Christ will strengthen my faith so that I acknowledge Him in the everyday moments, like the Duggars do. I do not want to be Michelle Duggar. I want to be Jennifer Bailey. But I admire Michelle’s gentle spirit and that she points to Him in all that she does. She is a wonderful example for this momma.

Job 1:20-22