I’m adopted and was born in the 60’s, so even before I ever imagined myself married I worried about the potential of passing some sort of mystery ailment along to my kids. I had no real medical history, and (aside from breaking bones and incurring concussions in various extreme sports) have always been healthy. I inherited the characteristics of my biological parents which were listed in the “history” on record with the adoption agency: tall, thin, blond hair with blue eyes, and striking good looks. Okay, maybe I added the last one. But there was no history of heart, cancer, or mental development problems in either parent’s history. But was there something I might not know about? There was a time when I worried about that.
Through this particular ordeal, however, in which we awaited test results, I have to say that neither my wife nor I were stressed. It is for that reason that I can’t be overwhelmed with relief, and neither can my wife; we were not distraught in the first place. There are plenty of reasons why.
When we were expecting, we prayed. Our prayer was that there wouldn’t be any hereditary surprise from my unknown past. Prayer answered…we have a wonderful little boy. A few months after he was born, our poor little fella developed pneumonia. God saw him through that VERY quickly. Then there was the time I walked into his bedroom at night and couldn’t detect breathing from my cold little son, and had to try very hard to wake him. The doctors put him on a sleep monitor with little electrodes which we called “his wires” for several weeks. Despite several false alarms from the machine in the middle of the night, our little guy little was perfectly fine.
After bonking his head (not very hard) he was doing this thing where his eyes would retain focus, but he’d bob his head a bit. We were scared that he had a concussion or worse, so we took him in. Prayers in the ER were answered: no problems, and he quit doing it shortly thereafter. I’m sure I’ve probably forgotten some things too, unfortunately, but I think you get the point.
Then there’s our little 7 month old. We haven’t had anything scary with him, really…at least not since he was “in the tummy.” My wife was diagnosed early on with a severe case of Placenta Previa, a complication where the placenta forms and attaches below the baby. The problem there is that as the baby grows, its weight presses down on the placenta and can cause a host of severe problems. My wife would have to go on bed rest for months, we’d lose her income and need a caregiver, and there would still be a risk for mom and baby.
We (and many friends and family) prayed relentlessly for a miracle, although the doctors said such a severe situation would not reverse itself. They were wrong. At a followup appointment, tests showed that the condition was completely absent. My wife had a textbook pregnancy, short labor, and perfect delivery of another wonderful little boy! Prayer answered BIG TIME.
(I was just reminded that both times we went to the hospital in labor, we were still under the impression that the baby was breeched. Our first one was a flipper, but had eventually “insisted in standing on his own two feet,” as I put it. Yet in the case of each boy, we found out that they had flipped head down at the last minute and were ready for delivery. Even more prayers answered. We need to keep a journal!)
I love to quote Psalm 66:16 when witnessing or talking about the Bible, but in this case I will give verses 17 through 20 too:
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
What it comes down to is this: after the way that God has shown himself faithful time and time again in the lives of my boys, I have no excuse for doubting him when trouble comes along. I’m a pretty thick-skulled guy, and often have a hard time letting God get a message through, but the way He has answered pretty much every single prayer I’ve uttered in the life of my boys is undeniable. Yes, I’m quite happy that we got a good result from this test. I can’t say I’m surprised. I certainly can’t say that it relieved any overwhelming fear or anxiety. As the Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7,
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I just thank God for giving me the faith to trust in Him through what could be a scary ordeal, especially for a guy who worried about just such a situation for most of his adult life. I’ve felt that peace that passeth all understanding. I will declare what he has done for me and my beautiful family. Amen.