Miracle child

August 2013: Worry and curiosity filled us. Our heartbeats, fast. I was pregnant, and this was something that we desired and waited for. As Joel and I walked through the corridors of the hospital after my 12-week anomaly scan, I was restless. I wanted to get the scan results immediately. I tried to hold my curiosity in as the nurse informed us that they would give us a call to let us know the scan details later. The wait seemed long but I held on and tried to distract myself with work.

And lo, it came—the call we dreaded. The doctor informed us that the child in my womb was had a high risk of having down syndrome and spina bifida. “It is better to medically terminate the foetus before 20 weeks as the baby may not survive through the whole gestational period,” said the doctor. Our hearts sank, our minds drew a blank. But we decided to fight this battle of hopelessness on our knees. No, it wasn’t easy. It was painful and scary. The weeks leading up to the delivery seemed longer than usual.

When we came to know that we were going to have a baby boy, we decided to name him Judah—meaning ‘praise’ or ‘thanksgiving’. Joel and I were firm on the fact that down syndrome or not, Spina Bifida or not, we will choose to praise God for our son. We both prayed together over my womb every day and spoke life to the unborn child. I knew that God was doing something extraordinary inside my womb as He filled me with a divine peace on most days—a peace that surpasses all understanding.

While it was easy for us to go with what the experts suggested and abort the child and not go through with the uncertainty and the pain, we chose to trust and obey our Heavenly Father–the Author and Finisher of our faith. And God was so faithful to us in that journey. Judah was born at 34 weeks, just like we prayed for the delivery, and there were zero complications at birth. A whole baby—our miracle child. Even though he was born early, he weighed 50g more than the required weight, so, he was not admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit. Surely, great is His faithfulness, they are new every morning.

It has been seven years since his birth and there has not been a day when I have not been reminded by Judah to praise God. Every time I call out his name, I remember God’s faithfulness. And my son never ceases to amaze us with ways to praise our Good God; Judah always reminds us that praise brings blessings.

During that season, the Lord blessed us in many ways—first, Judah, our precious baby boy, second was immense growth, both spiritually and otherwise. We learned to put our trust completely in the Lord. We understood for ourselves and not from someone else’s experience  the real essence of the fact that our God is alive and is Jehovah Rapha, He hears and answers our prayers. Third, was that God used us to encourage other couples who were going through difficult seasons—they were encouraged as they saw Judah—that if God could do it for us then He was more than able to do it for them too. Yes, there were setbacks and constant bait for depression, anxiety, worry and pain, but as believers in Christ, we always knew that our victory lies in Christ alone.

I am constantly reminded of Joseph’s life when we are faced with troubles. Probably, the only mistake he committed was telling his brother about his dreams in the most undiplomatic fashion. Maybe it was youthful pride. Maybe, sheer excitement about hearing from God. Arrogance or not, it triggered a lot of anger in his brothers that they were ready to do anything to get him out of their lives. From almost getting killed to being sold off as a slave by his own brothers, and then spending time in prison for a crime he did not commit—his life was full of crooked roads and uncomfortable experiences. This misery went on for almost two decades. Was the dream really from God or was it something random and meaningless? —for a layman, these were the questions.

It was all part of God’s big plan for him.

Challenges seemed like a looming mountain in Joseph’s life, yet, not once did he complain. Through the chapters, we get to read time and again—‘the Lord was with him’. Surely, Joseph knew this and this was his confidence.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
– Genesis 50:20

God took what the enemy meant for evil and He turned it for good. Joseph was 30 by the time the dreams became true. No, it wasn’t late, it was just in God’s time.
Joseph waited, he trusted. Wouldn’t be great for us to have a Joseph-like attitude when we are faced with unexpected storms in life? To have faith that the Lord is with us through it all. And all that happens to us is a part of God’s big plan. My prayer is that I will be able to trust in God’s plans no matter how strange or unfair it seems.

The key is to realise that ultimately our lives are not our own. And through the difficult seasons, keep on praising His name—through the storm, through the calm. He will never let us down. Always remember—Praise opens the door to grace wherein we will be able glorify His name and tell of His goodness.