Josiah Bradford Wilkes
Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand;
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light,
Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.
_________________________
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne Make all my wants and wishes known;
In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.
The time was 10:45pm on the night of July 11th. The music of the above precious hymns could be heard resonating through our home as my fingers played the familiar tunes on our piano.
Little did we know how the message of these hymns would be a living testimony just moments away. For as I finished playing, Lisa reported that her water had broke. With joy, we gave each other a hug and then dedicated the next season of time to the Lord asking for His protection and wisdom in the birth of our child.
Lisa called our midwife, and preparations went underway. Unexpectedly though, however, the contractions were almost immediately 90-120 seconds apart lasting 40-60 seconds each. Our baby was coming soon!
A beautiful booklet of Scripture verses from our church body was a source of strength and encouragement to Lisa as she went through the contractions. “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
In His perfect time – just 4 hours and 29 minutes after her water broke (3:14am), Lisa delivered a strong, healthy little boy – Josiah Bradford Wilkes. He weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 20.5 inches long.
We praise the Lord for the miracle of life which was witnessed that night. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! (Ps. 31:19)
Two Scriptures that were quoted to Josiah only minutes after his birth were:
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Is. 58:12)
Therefore, my beloved ‘Josiah’, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1Cor. 15:58)
A beautiful sunrise welcomed the birth of Josiah!
Though the night be long, In my heart there’s a song;
I will praise Thee while life shall last,
Be my guide all the way, By Thy side I will stay;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
For more pictures of our dear little son, visit www.theWilkesTeam.com!
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Josh & Lisa
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not" (II Corinthians 4:1).
Family Website
Josiah is so cute thank you for posting!!!
Praise the Lord for Josiah’s safe and healthy arrival! I know you guys are thrilled to finally have him to hold in your arms. He is absolutely precious and I cant wait to meet him! Children are such a blessing and its amazing how quickly they grow up. Enjoy every minute of it all!
Congratulations! We can’t wait to meet him in August
What a beautiful blessing- the Lord has surely given you a WONDERFUL start to a great many many years of marriage.
And, seriously, as a forward thinking multi-generational kind of guy- little Josiah should consider earning a future family income through Gerber Baby Photography! He is such a doll!!!
What a precious little baby boy, who is my nephew!!!! I love the pictures of all three of you. A beautiful family indeed!!!! Love you all so much!
We are so happy for you. We were happy beyound words when we found out you had had your baby, and it is a boy! What a blessing!
God bless the happy parents!
Congratulations Joshua & Lisa! What a joyous gift you’ve been given. I pray little Josiah will grow to be a mighty man of God.
Take care of yourself Lisa and Joshua….. any time you would like to post additional pictures of your new son, feel free!
We never tire of seeing beautiful babies!
With Love,
Janet for the Childress Family
Congratulations on the new addition to the family! He is a precious little one. Enjoy him!
Praise the Lord! What a precious gift God has entrusted to your care. We are thrilled for how little Josiah’s arrival increased your love, faith and commitment to the Lord. What a beautiful capture thru photos. We have been praying for his safe arrival and here he has already arrived!! How good God is to continue to place you in our hearts and minds. Enjoy every little bitty second!
With love and congratulations,
The Owen Crew
what a beautiful baby boy ,he is so bright eyed,was anxious to know the day of the birth,and of course a boy or a girl, we are so happy for the two of you,wonderful parents you will be .larry, sharon wilkes.
Dear Joshua and Lisa,
We are so thankful you posted these handsome pictures of this handsome little guy! WE love them! Thank you for sharing. What a blessing that there was music and scripture that was part of your birthing experience. Thank you for sharing your lives with all of us. May you grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and may you teach your little one more and more about Jesus!
Love in Christ,
The Johnson team
Oh he is simply adorable! What a wonderful blessing from the Lord! Thank you for sharing your birth story and these precious photos! I have been blessed!
Much love,
Joanna Preston & family
Joshua and Lisa, Congratulations!!! We are very happy for you! Your little guy looks SO perfect!
Looking through your pictures reminded me of our first birth. I would LOVE to talk to you on the phone one of these days, Lisa. I have been thinking of you often lately. (I just found out on Saturday that you had your baby!)