Me: Prodigal, I like that tree. It has so many different branches but at the same time is going in the same direction.
Prodigal: Yeah, I started climbing this tree and not sure what direction to go.
Me: While you try to decide let me share an encouraging story.
This is a story from Windows into Heaven by Stacy & Michelle Tetschner. This is a story of Cathi Hoffman.
On October 12, 1993, I prematurely delivered Jessica Erin who weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz. I was so scared, but little did I know that I was witnessing my first miracle. After a 24-day stay at LSU Medical Center, Shreveport, LA., I brought Jessica home with me to Texas.
I conceived again when Jessica was 3 1/2 years old. Soon after learning of this pregnancy, my husband and I discovered that the fetus was in my fallopian tube. I lost the baby and my chances of conceiving children in the future were reduced by 75 percent.
We resigned ourselves to the fact that Jessica would be our only child, so we focused our energy on making her a very happy little girl. Between 1997 and 2000, I had two more miscarriages. We were absolutely convinced that having another child was not an option. But shortly after Jessica’s seventh birthday, I conceived again. My doctor closely monitored the pregnancy during the first trimester to gauge the baby’s growth. Our due date was July 23, 2001.
The first four months were happily uneventful, but then I started to dilate at 23 weeks–way too early for a baby to be born. After six days of hard labor, Jacob Edward was born on April 10, 2001, weighing 1 lb. 12 oz. Although Jacob had only a 22 percent change of survival with major complications, he surprised the doctors, sailed through the NICU, and was released after only two months at Christus Schumpert Medical Center in Shreveport, La. This was my second miracle.
My husband and I agreed this was the stopping point. We were blessed with a daughter and son, who survived against the odds. To prevent any future complicated pregnancies, I had a tubal ligation in June 2001.
Three months later I had some concerns and went to see the doctor. I left his office speechless after three pregnancy tests and an ultrasound confirmed I was three months pregnant. (This means I conceived right before the surgery.) I was not convinced that my health would allow me to carry another child. What were the odds of having another survivor?
I was determined to have a successful pregnancy, and I did everything I possibly could do to make this pregnancy longer and healthier. On Feb. 16, 2002, I gave birth to Julia Elise, my third miracle.
This is not the normal straight path of raising a family. God has a plan for everyone. He has a plan for how we are born. No doctors, no complications and man’s plan will stop what God wants to happen. So do not be discouraged if your situation is not the “normal” situation. It probably just means that God is planning things so that his name will among the story when you tell others.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
