I M.E.T. Him on Monday - In the Labor and Delivery Room

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to share one of my miracles/experiences with you that happened when I was giving birth to my youngest daughter.

Rewind eight years ago plus a month or so.........

I was about one week overdue with delivering my youngest daughter.  Boy was I ready to hold her in my arms as opposed to my belly!!

I went to the doctor for another checkup and everything looked great, but my doctor mentioned wanting to induce my labor.  There was no medical necessity for it, but she was suggesting we think about heading any problems off.

Now, as soon as she mentioned it, I clearly understood that the Lord wanted me to question it and ask her to wait a while.  I KNEW this without a doubt. 

But, I was so worried that I would offend her by questioning her that I kept my mouth shut.  Can we all say people pleasing issues??!! 

Now the funny thing about this is, my OB/GYN was a fantastic lady and most likely would have had no problem at all discussing this with me.  Hindsight 20/20!!

So we schedule an induction for the following Monday.  I spent the weekend stewing over the fact that I knew I should not be induced.  I knew that it was not time, but still....I stayed silent.

I tried everything that weekend to induce labor on my own.  I walked, planted flower gardens, drank and ate every food or drink rumored to start labor and nothing!!

So come Monday morning Farmer Willie and I head to the hospital to begin.  They start all of the meds and get labor going.

All is going well for about an hour and then my blood pressure begins to creep up so they won't let me out of bed.  Labor stalls and they break my water.  This helps and I am laboring pretty good.

Then, we figure out that she is still floating in the uterus.  Her head is in no way coming into the birth canal.  She is soooo not ready to come into this world!!

We try for several more hours, the doctor tries various ways of coaxing her down, but she is not obliging!! 

After deciding that we have done all that we can, the doctor makes the call to perform a C-section.  Now, to some of you this will not seem like a big deal.  To me it was a huge deal!!

My sweet OB/GYN had known me for quite a while and she knew of my strong desire to stay out of the OR.  She told me that she had been praying for the baby to drop so that we could proceed.  But that at this point, the baby was distressed, my blood pressure was going up and she had no choice.

The doctor checked the progress one more time and she said that there was none and no hope of it changing any time soon.

Farmer Willie and I consented and they went to get the paperwork for us to sign.

To say I was devastated was an understatement.  I was devastated and terrified!  I felt like things were not going the way that they were supposed to, but everything was out of my control.

Then I remembered.....Yes, I remembered the nagging voice all weekend telling me to talk to my doctor about not inducing. 

Farmer Willie and my mom were in the room with me.  The nurses had left us alone to get the paperwork together, so we began to pray.  We were praying for peace regarding what had to be done as well as safety for the baby and myself.  As we were praying, I knew then that I had sinned.

I had sinned by keeping my mouth shut when I knew that I should have spoken.  I knew that if I had asked the questions that needed to be asked, I would not be in this situation right now.  I had sinned and it was affecting not only myself, but my child.

As Farmer Willie was praying for safety and peace, I began to pray for forgiveness.  Forgiveness for not listening and obeying and for putting someone else's opinion of me above God's. 

As I prayed for forgiveness, I also prayed that the Lord would take this current situation away, and if not, that He would give me peace.

I suddenly felt the baby drop and an overwhelming urge to push.

I stopped Farmer Willie in the middle of his prayer and told him to get the nurse, I thought that the baby was coming.  He looked at me with sad eyes (thinking his wife has gone delusional!!) and walked out into the hall to get someone.

The nurse also looked at me with sad eyes and said, "Honey, we just checked you.  There is no way that enough could change over this short amount of time that would change the doctors course of action.  But I will go ahead and check for you again."

Well...good thing she did!!  As the doctor walked in the door with my paperwork, the nurse yelled that the baby was coming!!

Everyone whipped into place and readied to deliver her.  They called in the NICU as they were expecting her to be distressed due to the fact she was distressed in utero and also the fact that she traveled down the birth canal too quickly.

Then...pop...out she came, crying and screaming as loud as she could.  They checked her out and she was perfect!!

I was overwhelmed at that moment.  Overwhelmed with the joy of becoming a mommy to my fourth daughter and overwhelmed with thankfulness for the mercy I was given in the face of my sinful choice.

There have been many times in my life where I have seen direct consequences of my sinful choices come to pass, even when I have repented and pray for them not to come.  When we make certain choices, consequences regarding that choice, whether it was a good or bad one, are part of the human world.  What makes this different for me is that it was such an obvious testimony of the presence of God.

I go through my life and sometimes I get so caught up with what is going on that I forget how involved that the Lord wants to be if I will only call on Him.  And I forget that He knows the best path for me to take, if I will only ask Him.

What this miracle and experience does for me is that it reminds me of His presence.  It reminds me to listen to that still, small voice when I hear it.  It reminds me to put heavenly instructions above earthly desire. 

And finally, it reminds me of the power of repentance, whether it is through a change in circumstance or through a peace that surpasses all understanding.