a sibling.
someone she can relate to, talk & play with.
someone she can have arguments & fight things over with.
someone she can also share & love, as much as we have loved her, if not more.
so we prayed. & waited. & waited.
many years ago, we learned that God answers prayers in 3 ways :
A. yes
B. no
C. yes, but not now.
after a long, long wait, we resigned ourselves to the reality that there will just be 3 of us.
& life goes on.
for a few weeks near the end of 2001, my wife had felt "lousy". without any other symptoms to go by, we randomly visited our gynae friend. & lo & behold, the ultrasound revealed an answered prayer - option C. the 12-week-old fetus, nestled comfortably in the depths of the uterus, already had a beating heart!
we were overwhelmed with mixed emotions. happy because we had been blessed with a love child. yet apprehensive as my wife was at an age when congenital abnormalities (medic-speak for birth defects) were a distinct possibility. our gynae offered a chorionic-villous sampling (where a fine needle is inserted through the abdomen & into the uterus to obtain a small amount of placental tissue) as a test for these abnormalities.
after much delibration & prayer, we decided to forego the procedure. come what may, we will love & nurture our child, with or without blemish. for we dwelled on the promise of the psalmist :
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
psalms 139:13-16
on may 18, 2002 we rejoiced in the arrival of a normal healthy boy. he doesn't know it yet, but he plays so many roles - a son, a brother, a grandson & most importantly, a child of God. so heavy a responsibility on such fragile shoulders!
4-month-old with a blank stare
4-yr-old : future petrol station attendant?
how should we raise this boy? the same way we have done with our girl, according to the instruction of the wise men of yore :
Train a child in the way he should go,
& when he is old he will not turn from it
prov 22:6
BLESSED CHRISTMAS, ONE & ALL!
10 comments:
Hey, God is good huh? He also gave me my daughter and my son. (at an age later than most too)
Thabking God for His peace and joy this Christmas and always!
A nice read for Christmas, probably identifying with my own experiences!
When we had Rachel in 1990, I made a pillow with a cross stitch piece that read, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
We had Chris in 1995 - the answered prayer of Rachel.
Then, Chris prayed for one in 2000, it was an answered prayer too, but Chris said, "We forgot to ask God to put the baby in the tummy." It was ectopic.
But, that answered prayer led Chris as a young child to Christ in its own you-nique way!
So, one in a million, it is! Amen!
Blessed Christmas.
Yan
Thankful also that motherhood did not elude me.
Depending on God for His wisdom to be the parent I should be.
yan,
isn't it a blessing when children pray & believe in God? it's even more imperative to continue to guide them & teach them in the way they should go.
Amen.
just me,
may His Word be a light unto your path & a lamp unto your feet.
Amen.
such a heartwarming read, doc. :)
a very happy and blessed new year to you and all at home.
nyonya,
thks for your kind comment.
happy new year to you & your family as well.
OK, I have seen his picture now, your proposal, err... hahaha
Happy New Year.
Thanks for the reminder from proverbs, doc. My son is going to be 6 soon. And he can get on my head unless I put my foot down sometimes.
bernard,
you're welcome.
my son will be 5 & he's always testing his (& my) limits, which means he gets into my head & on my nerve all the time. but what can i say - kids will always be kids, & blessed is the man who has a quiver full of them!
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