November 30, 2015
It had been a normal day for us, at least as normal as it could be when your wife is days away from giving birth. We were now at the point of weekly doctor visits and ultrasounds. We were dealing with the sleepless nights as well as Lindsey getting to the point of “just get this kid out of me already.” That afternoon we went and had her appointment, they did some bloodwork and told us everything looked good, and that the following Monday they would induce her for the baby to be born. So we went home and started our day. We decided it was probably a good idea to go ahead and decorate for Christmas because once Eli was born we figured nothing would get done. So that afternoon we went out and bought a Christmas tree, came home, got some dinner, and got to work. Feeling a little exhausted, at around 10 or so we decided it was time to call it a night. The tree was up, the lights and ornaments were hung, so if nothing else, at least that was done.
As we went to go to bed we grabbed our phones and both noticed we had voicemails from an unknown number. Linds decided to check hers first, and as she did the tears started to flow. I had no clue why, but she went on to tell me it was a message from her doctor saying to get to the emergency room as soon as possible. WHAT???? We were just at your office this afternoon and you told us everything was good. On the way to the E.R. we were able to get a hold of the doctor who told us for some reason that night she couldn’t sleep, so she got up and chose to go over test results once again. As she went over Lindsey’s numbers one more time, she noticed that according to the data, Linds was going into preclampsia and that her liver was shutting down. Not quite the news we expected. Now I don’t usually freak out, but that night, I may have a little bit, especially as we get to the hospital and they are waiting for us and begin telling us all the medications they were going to put her on as well as test to be run. All I remember is them saying, “This one is for seizures, this one is for blood pressure, this one is for this, this one is for that.” Seizures, High blood pressure, and the list went on…. Yeah I got a little scared.
So I did all that I know to do, I began to pray. During that night the Lord continued leading me to Psalms 139 and I just kept reciting it over and over. Through it I learned just how true the words are that this child, that we had prayed for, was truly in God’s hands. He knew all the emotions I was going through and none of this was catching him off guard. I didn’t know all the answers or how everything was going to turn out, but I knew God kept saying “He is my child, even before you knew of his existence, I had already been planning his life. Every aspect, every detail… is in my hands.”
YOU HAVE SEARCHED ME, LORD,
AND YOU KNOW ME.
2 YOU KNOW WHEN I SIT AND WHEN I RISE;
YOU PERCEIVE MY THOUGHTS FROM AFAR.
3 YOU DISCERN MY GOING OUT AND MY LYING DOWN;
YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH ALL MY WAYS.
4 BEFORE A WORD IS ON MY TONGUE
YOU, LORD, KNOW IT COMPLETELY.
13 FOR YOU CREATED MY INMOST BEING;
YOU KNIT ME TOGETHER IN MY MOTHER’S WOMB.
14 I PRAISE YOU BECAUSE I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE;
YOUR WORKS ARE WONDERFUL,
I KNOW THAT FULL WELL.
15 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.
16 YOUR EYES SAW MY UNFORMED BODY;
ALL THE DAYS ORDAINED FOR ME WERE WRITTEN IN YOUR BOOK
BEFORE ONE OF THEM CAME TO BE.
All I could do was pray and trust. As the hours past, her blood pressure would rise, machines would beep, heartrate would go up and all i could do was sit there helpless, watching and waiting. Then the guy with the epidoral came in and he just wanted to talk, and on and on he went. All I kept thinking was, “dude, help my wife.”
Labor went on for a little over 13 hours and then our little miracle, Eli Miycah was born. Healthy as could be, but man did I have a scare put into me over the whole thing. Not only a scare but a whole new perspective over the passages that David wrote so many years ago about each child being fearfully and wonderfully made.
Every aspect, every detail is in the hands of a mighty God. What an awesome and mighty God we serve. And the reality that truly hit home that night is that even if something happened that night, that God is still in control. Not a moment went by that he was unaware of.
Psalms 139 is probably my favorite passage. Last Easter I read it to my sister in law while she was pregnant with Julia! I love that we are reminded there is not a moment in our lives He is not with us!! ❤️