Some things may not be able to be put into words...
I have been waiting just about a week to blog about the miracle I was given the opportunity to witness last weekend. But maybe I should go back about 11 months.
These are my dear friends...
This picture was taken at a Mexican themed party the four of us had. Yes, we're a bit strange like that... :)
We met about four years ago. We did some real serious thinking...
and decided to be dearest of friends.
Julia is also a fellow youth minister with me. We tend to hang out a lot... at least when I am not in school. ANYWAY!
Julia my sweet sweet friend had been trying to get pregnant, not in a barren womb St. Ann sort of way, but her and her husband were excited for a new stage in life...
One night on a retreat we each sat in the adoration chapel and prayed and prayed. That night as we got into our "honeymoon suite" a blow up mattress we've often shared together on various adventures we whispered in the dark what we prayed for... without knowing we shared a common request that she be a blessed with a baby.
Throughout the time period of Lent,
Julia and her students had been participating in a program called The H2O Project. She had gone 40 days of only drinking water... a pretty big feat for a soda/juice/anything with flavor lover like herself. The weekend of Easter had arrived.
Mr. Bean and I had planned to relax and stay in our area for the holiday and not go crazy trying to visit relatives. Julia and her husband's relatives are all local so a holiday get together seemed in store for the four friends. Of course this may or may not have had the intention of partaking in the "sacrament" (as my brother likes to put it) in celebration of the Risen Lord. As
Julia and I shopped and talked about plans for the evening as well as happenings of life, she mused about not having yet been visited by her Aunt Flo yet that month. Immediately I of course spun into the head in the clouds, party planning, excitedly anticipating possibly squealing female that I can be... She needed to take a pregnancy test to be sure - BEFORE we carried out our planned festivities for the evening.
The test was bought with a lot of prodding and much anticipation of another let down. As I ushered
Julia into the tiny bathroom of my one bedroom apartment, I started kicking myself wondering what I would say to make her feel better about the single faint line that would appear in that little window. This had been my idea... I'm in deep now. Suddenly my thoughts were broken by a shaky voice laden with anticipation and hope - on the verge of major freak out. "Annie!" was all
Julia could say. Positive. It was positive.
December felt like an eternity away.
Julia hardly broke the triple digits on the scale BEFORE she was pregnant, so by her final trimester you probably would have guessed she was only 6 months along. Even though I know she was uncomfortable and probably didn't (wont) believe me - she was beautiful. And I, I was astounded, excited and honored to be asked to accompany the party to the delivery room when it was time. The couple could only agree on a male name... so when the ultrasound was marked with "I'm a boy!" it was yet another dream come true. November was filled with last minute work in preparation for maternity leave and prayers from the soon-to-be great grandma for a speedy labor.
Somehow nine months sprinted by us. December came without snow but with much anticipation for the new little man.
Julia was one day late and drained of all patience for her pregnancy. I was jolted out of sleep by the ringing of my phone. Groggily I answered, "Are you in labor?" - the only real excuse for waking me up - "They said my water wouldn't break, but it broke. I don't know what to do." Apparently it isn’t all that common for a woman's water to break... but hers had! I told her to rest while she could but let me know when t was time to go. 15 minutes later the jingle of my phone alerted me to the news that
"Contractions are about 5 minutes apart".
"That's crazy!" I said, “Is Mike up?"
"He's driving me nuts already..."
More was said, but expletives may or may not prevent me from sharing them with you. Texts end at 2:29am when they came to pick me up.
To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. I've never seen anything be born... not even an animal. I didn't even have to watch the stereotypical video in health class. What was I in for?
I was in for the opportunity to watch a woman do the incredible.
After being in the hospital only 8 hours little dude was born. I saw it happen! I kind of helped I guess though most of the time I was fighting tears and probably getting in the way. The hospital room was fairly quiet as I counted to ten. Mike and I stole shocked glances at each other over his wife's belly.
Julia was a champion pushing (both figuratively and literally) through all the exhaustion and pain. And then...
She was stunned as they placed her baby on her chest.
She just looked at him with this look of wonder and amazement. And he?
He just stared at her.
I have never EVER witnessed something so amazing in my entire life.
Julia and her son have given me a gift they cannot imagine. I am completely changed. I am inspired by her strength. I am moved by the miracle that he is. And I cannot help but think of all the prayer that has been answered in one tiny little human. I guess it's just breathtaking to step back and see the work of God that was put into motion (as we can see) just about a year ago... and really, all the little pieces that we don’t even know about... it's just awesome.
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