Category: Fathers - Everyday Miracles

Not Fearing His Plans

5/12/2014

I can't count how many times over the years I've called my Mom or Dad for comfort. It was a rough week again. I'm in the hospital. This time it is for a shortened cervix--the only thing that hadn't yet went wrong in this pregnancy. I'm here on bed rest until the babies come and fighting fear with almost every breath. We're only at 23 weeks. My little girls need more time if they are to survive.

So, I'm listening to the ever comforting voice of my Dad yesterday when something he says shoots straight to my heart. "Sweetheart. God has given you these babies for a reason. They are special to Him. They must be. Look at what they have already survived. He has great plans for them."

He has great plans for them. For my unborn babies. He knows their futures. He knows their hearts, the same hearts He's healed, defying all odds.

And when all this hit me, I felt humbled. He is allowing Me to be their mother. He picked my husband to be their father. He has entrusted us with two souls that are special to him.

So I prayed. I prayed for Him to guide me. Help me be the mother these little ones need. Help me not be afraid, because He wouldn't have set this before me if He hadn't known I was the woman for the task.

Funny, isn't it? If you read that verse proclaiming that God has great and good plans for us, you can face any challenge with peace. Peace that the world is just as it should be.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Wherever we are, whatever challenges, tasks, worries, and hurts we face, we can face the great plans God has for us and have no fear.

We All Deserve True Love

9/8/2013

God gave us all a time to be quiet and a time to speak. Proportionally, I truly believe in listening more than talking and I love the old saying, "We have one mouth and two ears therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak."

But, I have a hard time listening to stories of abuse and domestic violence. It pains me to hear accounts of marriages torn by pain and suffering, families trying to endure beyond the fear. I hate to hear these stories because the intense suffering of it hurts me, too. These are people who have been injured intimately by the very people who should have loved them completely, unconditionally, and protected them and supported them in life. To me, abuse and violence is one of the clearest examples of just how broken our world is.

I have a daughter. She is beautiful and precious to me. My husband and I want a brilliant, love-filled present and future for her. I just finished a young-adult novel that included a story of domestic violence. This novel, Unclaimed Legacy by Deborah Heal, showed a home with an abused wife and as I read it I thought about some of my dear friends who have been in marriages and homes with this kind of pain. The thought of my child ever enduring such hurt is troubling and I know I will fight to make sure she never does. I prayed about it and realized I already have two powerful weapons to protect her--God's word and a happy marriage. Making God's teaching part of our daily lives while my husband and I continue to love and support each other and care for our beautiful family will help guide our daughter to a happy future.

I believe we all deserve true love and thankfully we have it unconditionally through Christ.

God, as my child grows, help me guide her towards that kind of love.

Deborah Heal is the author of the Time and Again young adult series. I recommend reading her novels and reading her article about domestic abuse at http://deborahheal.com/staying-relevant-but-keeping-violence-in-ya-fiction-under-control/

Enter her giveaway below for a chance to win the complete Time and Again trilogy signed by the author plus a beautiful mug!

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To My Empty-Nest Parents

8/21/2013

I just wanted to make sure you know this. You see, Mom and Dad, I still haven't left home. Now, don't laugh. Yes, physically I'm in Australia, on the other side of this world God created, but there is so much of me still there with you, curled up on your couch.

I don't think children ever really leave home. How could I? You hold something precious for me...unconditional love. That's why I still call you when I have good news and I want someone to cheer for me. That is why I call when I have a fever and all I want to do is hear your voice. That is why I call you when the baby is teething and I know you can't reach through the phone and hold her, but somehow I still feel your love over here on the other side of the world and it strengthens me.

So, while there are many morning I wish I could come over and cook you pancakes, drink a cup of coffee with you, and talk that idle chatter about things that matter not except that they fill quiet spaces with friendship, I just wanted you to know that your nest isn't empty. I'm still there. And yes, my old room is more a library now and I have my own home and loving family, but your home is still and always will always hold part of my heart.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

Proverbs 17:6

Their Walks of Faith

6/23/2013

“You are the salt of the earth. ....You are the light of the world."
Matthew 5:13-14

With all the ugly things that happen in life, the struggles, the distractions, the hurt..I find it amazing that my walk in faith continues. But, you see, it isn't the words of the Bible that keep my head and heart turning to God. It is the people of my life that make those words come alive that keep me hungering for God's presence in my own soul.

Who are these amazing people? They've been there through my whole life. The people who have shook me out of complacency and made me drive my life towards God are people who never made it onto the 7 o'clock news or made millions from writing and selling their biographies. No, they were all people with humble hearts who doused my world with their love.

One lady, I'll call her Ruth, had eyes with the light of God shining out from her soul so strongly she just seemed to glow. About the same age as my grandma, Ruth had a face of unearthly grace and when I grow into my years of maturity I hope I have smile wrinkles like hers. She taught my Sunday School class off and on when I was really young and gently guided me to my salvation.

My high school years were blessed with some incredible teachers. They looked at me and saw more than I did and were never settled with second rate. They believed in the possibilities of my future and I know they prayed for me. Those teachers were always bigger than life to me, because they gave unselfishly so much of themselves. Guess what, it turned out that each and every one was a Christian, evidence given by the cross around their necks or hanging up from the rear-view mirror of their car--a small defiance to keeping God out of schools.

And the list goes on.

A mother of a school friend always opened her home to me and a stronger woman I've never met. I still keep the bookmark she made me with the Bible verse embroidered on it.

A girl I met in college amazes me with her ready smile and how at ease she is defending her faith, never ashamed of God's place in her life.

A close friend and sister gives her life unselfishly everyday for her growing family and anyone else she can lend a hand to. I think God speaks from her eyes and she is the easiest person to talk to.

I could go on and on with this forever, but I think it is best that I close with one last word.

The biggest and greatest testimony to God we can ever share is just by letting God show Himself through the lives we live.

We are the salt of the Earth. We are the light of the world.

Under the Knife

6/19/2013

I walked into the hospital clutching a brown paper bag of surgery supplies and trying to continue to breath. Next to me my husband held my hand and my mother-in-law chatted away about how excited she was to meet her first grandchild. But me...well, I was just trying not to dissolve into the weakness of a panic attack.

In my head I waged a war of battling fears. How many times had I already told myself that everything would be fine? So what if they had needed me to go buy my own anesthesia, gauze, etc and find my own blood donors? Yes, in the States that would never happen but here it was common practice. Babies still made it into the world...even in this hospital that didn't have soap in the bathrooms. Breath. It was ok. God was with me. But my emotions were being held together by threads as wispy as spider webs.

Oh, God! I breathed those two words over and over. Oh, God, Oh God.

Most of all, I needed to keep my mind off the horrors. In the tiny hospital of a Patagonia town I was going to go under the knife as an over-worked gynecologist brought my daughter into the world. The million and a half things that could go wrong danced inside my head like naughty little demons.

I could feel the terror building up inside me as the nurse came to take me away. My husband gave me a kiss and Mamá hugged me, but they couldn't travel into the surgery ward with me. I was alone. The nurse talked away in Spanish and the words got all scrambled up in my head. I could feel my breath coming short and shallow and begged myself to stay calm. This will all be over soon. Everything is going to be fine. Just fine. I'll be holding my little girl before I know it.

Another surgery was underway and I was ushered into a room with a TV. The nurse started me on an IV drip of something and I had no idea what was coming into me through the tube. Whatever it was, it did nothing to calm me down and I could only stare blankly at the remote in my hand. A jittery chuckle blasted from my trembling lips as I looked at it...nothing playing on TV could possibly help right now. I closed my eyes and begged the fear away, feeling my strength beginning to crumble with my terror.

God, please, please, please. Get me through this. Let me stay strong and do whatever I need to do to help this go well. Be with my daughter. Be with the doctor.

Something eased within my chest...a completely unearthly feeling.. like a strange detachment and serenity came over me. The anesthesiologist came in and smiled at me. I smiled back. When he spoke I was surprised that the Spanish words were no longer scrambled and bizarre. He was talking to me about a cousin of his who had been to the United States. It wasn't everyday an American woman opted to have her child in their small seaside town. I asked him about the IV drip, thinking they must have started me on drugs since I felt so peaceful. He laughed and said it was only nutrients since I had been fasting. He was going to administer the epidural for the surgery.

I didn't hardly feel the needle when he gave me the epidural but eventually I felt the medicine take over and I was wheeled to the surgery room. Everything happened so fast. A sheet went up. A nurse reminded me not to talk. And I laid there peacefully wondering at the calmness that had begun long before I had came into the room.

Then I heard the most exciting sound in the world. A little cry, one unhappy little whimper, and then a grumpy newborn with pudgy cheeks and black hair was nestled next to me. I broke the rules and spoke. How could I not? "Hello. Wow, you're so beautiful. Hello, love. Hello." I begged the nurse to tell me if she was ok and the lady laughed. My daughter was perfect. Oh, God, Thank you!

But I must not speak more, the doctor was still finishing the surgery.

That peace stayed with me even after they took my baby away, and finished the surgery. It wasn't until I got back to my husband and saw the bundle in his arms that any tears came from my eyes. The great waves of fear and anxiety washed over me in a gentle crest of emotion. God had held back that storm.

"She's beautiful, Honey." My husband said. I nodded, but couldn't stop crying for a while. Finally I took a deep breath and took up that precious child in my arms. Every baby brought into this world is a miracle and my daughter was no exception. And I'll never forget that experience as God walked with me through my nightmares and held my hand until I was back in the light.

"And surely I am with you always..."
Matthew 28:20

The Love of a Father

6/16/2013

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8

I love this day--Father’s Day. I love my dad. He is completely, totally, and beyond a doubt amazing. Dads (and moms) bring the deep and constant love of a parent into a child's life. And some of us need that example to understand God's love for His children.

Our relationship with God is that of a child and a Father.

That has always been my favorite aspect of Christianity—knowing that my God is my Father up in Heaven and I have loved and understood this well since I was very small, because of my incredible parents.

“Jesus told us that when we pray we are to address God as our Heavenly Father,” my Sunday school teacher said and my childish mind immediately pictured my dad in my head.

God must be really nice, I thought. Just like my dad.

That moment has reoccurred in my thoughts many times over the years.

Mortals couldn’t possibly grasp the great depth of God’s love, but we can surely see a glimpse of it in the love of our earthly fathers (and mothers). My dad is always there to listen. He is always there to wipe my tears away and give sympathy to my woes no matter if they are big, small, earth-shattering, or silly. My dad has unselfishly dedicated his life to the nurturing, protection, and caring of his family. Watching his life work has strengthened my faith in God's goodness more than anything else I have ever encountered.

God is our Father. He wants only the very best for His children, that they will come to know Him, and that they will come home to Him in the end.

Thank you, to every dad who loves and cherishes their children with undying perseverance. You show us all what the love of a father is like. Happy Father’s Day!

Faith in the Impossible, Part II

6/2/2013

              The doctors had warned them that they only had minutes with their newborn daughter and David didn’t want to leave her side. The families came and went, each person wanting to see their precious miracle at least once before she was taken away from them. The minutes stretched into hours and then into days. As David returned to work, his prayers grew with hope. Liliana was eating and sleeping almost like a normal baby. The staff at the hospital eventually allowed her to come home with them but a hospice nurse was also stationed to care for her. They expected Liliana’s little life to end quickly.

                While their prayers became habitual, they never lost fervency and an amazing faith grew strong within David’s family. They had come to grip with the fact that all things were best left in the hands of their Heavenly Father. David thought back on his life the way it was only a few months before and shook his head. He had left behind a world of senseless living that had hurt his wife and family. He had thought then that life was about making money and doing whatever pleased him. But, in the wake of his transformation he had more strength and peace than he had ever felt before. It was a great gift to come home to his wife each day, kiss her, and hug his two precious daughters. The older girl, Diana, was so patient with their new family member even through all usual drama that accompanied the life of a newborn. The hospice nurse eventually gave up and left them after Liliana turned two months old.

                Liliana was a beautiful baby. She looked around at the world with her soft brown eyes and smiled with melting sweetness when she looked up at her parents. They had long since decided that their little girl would be given all the love they possessed for as long as God willed them to have her. But, as Liliana drew near to completing four months, he and his wife hoped they would get to keep her much longer than the doctors predicted.

                David and Elena decided to get away to the lake with family for the day. It was nice to get out into the sunshine and the sweetness of caring friends and family. But, when they left Liliana’s side and in the care of another, something happened. Liliana hadn’t been away from her mother and father hardly at all, and not having them near threw her into a frenzy of crying. When the crying wouldn’t stop they took her to the emergency room. This time the doctor that looked her over told them that they couldn’t let her cry. Her body was having too much trouble getting oxygen to her brain. There wasn’t a way to repair it. As a parting remark the doctor told them, “You knew you wouldn’t have her for long. Considering her developmental problems it is amazing that she has lived to this age.”

        They doubled our efforts. Liliana wasn’t given an opportunity to cry. Diana was a vigilant older sister, always doing her best to entertain the little baby and her parents soaked their little girl with love. Fourth of July came and Liliana was eight months old. Their little miracle baby hadn’t given up on life. They thanked God for his goodness and marveled at the way their family was growing. Not only did they now have two beautiful daughters, but their family was stronger and their marriage happy. Looking around at friends and other families around them, they felt truly blessed. The fireworks they watched at the family gathering made Liliana smile and laugh, but later that night she started crying frantically. By the time Elena had Liliana in her arms again it seemed to be too late. Her face was turning purple. Something horrible was happening to their little girl and they couldn’t stop it. By the time the ambulance arrived she had stopped breathing. Even after they resuscitated her the EMTs were worried about her oxygen levels. They knew something wasn’t right with the little baby and decided to fly her to Amarillo.

                It was the longest drive of David’s life. There was only room on the helicopter for one, so Elena climbed in and David took Diana in the truck. About half-way down the road Elena got a hold of David on the cell phone and told him that Liliana was stabilized and that they doctors were looking at her. As soon as he got to the hospital he was asked to sign forms giving permission for surgery. There was a massive build-up of fluid around her brain. They might be able to save her with a shunt, a small tube placed so that the liquid would drain safely into her stomach.

                The surgery worked. Another miracle had happened. Their baby which was not supposed to have lived at all, had survived major surgery. And for a while life with Lilianna returned to ordinary. The swelling around her head went down and her eyes looked normal. They took extra care with her, doing their best to prevent a self-inflicted injury or infection. They knew their baby wasn’t made as all other babies were. But they also knew that God had crafted her life for a special purpose and they could already see the impact of it on their home and family. The shunt worked fine for six months until the infection set in.

                There was vomiting and bleeding. The shunt started to come through the skin. Even with morphine the pain continued and their little baby couldn’t stop crying. Eventually the trauma of it all did its awful work and Liliana could be kept alive no longer. “We could keep her alive artificially,” one doctor told them. But David and Elena knew that it would not be a real life for their little one, so torn by her infirmities. They held each other close, watching monitors give off the signs that they were losing her fast. “We need to let Diana say goodbye.”

                Through it all they never stopped praying. Though they prayed for another miracle, they thanked God for every second that they had already enjoyed their beautiful child. They cried. Diana wasn’t ready. Her prayers weren’t quiet, but said out loud as she pleaded, “God, please save Liliana. Please keep my baby sister alive. I’ll take care of her. I don’t care if her head isn’t ok. I’ll take care of my baby sister.” Her words were those of a child with complete faith in her Heavenly Father and as she came into Liliana's room the monitors changed dramatically.

                Liliana was coming back to them.

                Doctors and nurses streamed into the room and the family was ushered outside. The change in her vitals was amazing and sent them into frenzy as they took on another fight to save her. When the nurse came to get them, she was smiling. Liliana had been stabilized to everyone’s amazement. She had died for the second time in her short little life and came back to them yet again. God’s angels had her safe in their arms.

                It took two weeks of hospital care for Liliana to recover from the infection and another surgery to replace the shunt. Liliana celebrated her first birthday as a miracle child. Therapists come to see her, full of hope as they work to help her develop her mind and body. David thanks God each night. His Heavenly Father has given him so much.

Faith in the Impossible, Part I

5/25/2013

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me..."
Psalm 23:4

                All David could do was pray. He and Elena had just sat in yet another doctor’s office and the man who examined their unborn child in the ultrasound told them the same thing. The baby wouldn’t live. She had no skull forming. She was too tiny. A dozen different things were wrong with her little body. If Elena even carried her to term she would live for only seconds.

                God, have mercy, David prayed. God, please, save our baby. Give her chance. If the doctors were right, David wouldn’t even get a chance to hold her and kiss her before she passed away and the truth was tearing his heart out.

                He hadn’t even been aware of how strong his love was for his unborn child, his wife that carried her, and his daughter who waited anxiously to become a sister. But when he had first heard those dreaded words it had felt like the world was crashing down around him. “She isn’t developing normally. There is a problem with her skull.” He had swallowed and stared, terrified, at the tiny baby on the screen.

                That had been the moment that turned his life around. He dropped everything that Sunday and took his family to church. Friends called him over for another wild party but he stayed home and wrapped his arms around his wife. He didn’t want to drink. He didn’t want to fool around.

                They got better insurance and started calling other doctors. They drove for hours to bigger cities with high-tech ultrasound machines and specialists, but the diagnosis became bleaker as they got closer to the day that Elena would deliver their child. They didn’t know how to talk about it with their daughter, Diana, but they knew she sensed the worry.

                It was only at church or when David was praying that he had ease from the anxiety and fear. He could feel God reach out with strong hands and wrap him in his peace. If it hadn’t been for that, David might have gone crazy.
                The day came. Elena went into labor a month early. David and his family didn’t stop praying for second. And, though they prayed for God’s mercy, they also prayed for strength to be able to hold themselves together if they lost their baby.

                There were many doctors and nurses there to battle to keep her alive. The delivery room was so crowded that David couldn’t stay. He held his wife close for a few seconds and told her, “I love you. It is going to be ok.” As he left his eyes darted to the incubator which stood in anticipation for their baby. In the waiting room he held Diana’s hand and prayed. It felt like time stopped and the only things left were his thoughts as he begged God to be with his wife and their baby. God, help us.

                A nurse came walking swiftly towards him. David swallowed and stood up. She briskly addressed him, “Are you the father? You need to come now.”

                “What happened? Is the baby alive? Is Elena ok?”

                “Just wait, we are going to her now.”

                The nurse wouldn’t answer anymore questions. When David entered the room the first thing he saw was Elena. She was crying, sobbing, and her mother was holding her. David felt like he just knew it then. They had lost her. The baby hadn’t survived.

                “What happened?” He asked Elena, tears making his voice come out hoarse and forced. “Is she alive?”

                Then, to his disbelief, Elena nodded and gestured to the incubator. There, underneath the plastic, being prodded and examined was a newborn baby girl. She was crying and the doctors were exclaiming in disbelief, “Her skull appears to be fully formed.” “Those lungs are healthy enough. Hear how she is crying?”

                Finally, another doctor reached in the incubator and lifted their girl out. He placed her in their arms and said, “She doesn’t need that incubator. She needs your love.” She quieted as they held her.   David could feel it then, God peace and goodness reaching out to them and giving them that miracle. They were holding their baby girl.

                As the doctor wrote something out on the chart he remarked, “You need to hold her close now. She won’t live long. Minutes. Maybe hours.”

                But, though those words hurt, David could only thank God for letting them have that moment. “What do we name her?” Elena asked through happy tears.

                David smiled, “Liliana.”