Ever since we got home from the hospital over a month ago (crazy how time flies!), I've been wanting to document all the ways, big and small, that God showed his faithfulness to us during the journey of Benjamin's birth. I've been learning a whole new way to manage time in the little 1 hr. segments I get these days, so that's my excuse for why this took so long! Unfortunately, I already feel those details getting foggy in my sleep-deprived brain. So tonight, while Will is at a Bible study and Benjamin tucked cozily in his crib, I find myself reflecting on October 8, 2009...
40. Incredibly meaningful times of prayer and Bible study that whole week leading up to Benjamin's birth... the Holy Spirit truly interceded for me and led me to Scriptures that I would be clinging to for days and weeks to come.
39. A positive and reassuring Dr's appt. that morning - he truly listened to our concerns and took the time to pay attention to the particularities of our situation. Doctors always seem so busy and rushed - I knew it was a complete answer to prayer that he stopped for us, so when he made the decision to send us to the hospital to be induced, I was able to be at peace about it.
38. Weeks before, I had been doing some reading and research about the drugs commonly used for induction, and had decided that should I need to be induced, there was one particular drug which I felt most comfortable with using. God was faithful to give me boldness in discussing this with the doctor, and the dr. consented to work with me in that area.
37. That one dose of one drug did the trick! Contractions started coming hard and fast within an hour or so, and I didn't have to receive any other medications to move my labor along.
36. An amazingly fast labor and delivery - I had contractions for about 6.5 hours and pushed for only 15 minutes before our precious Benjamin was born!
35. The strength to continue through the labor and delivery without an epidural - I know the only explanation is that God was there!
34. An incredibly supportive husband who was present with me through the whole journey and very attentive to my needs.
33. A wonderful nurse whose shifted lasted from 7 pm to 7 am, so she was able to be with us through the major portion of the labor, during delivery, and throughout those crazy early morning hours after Benjamin was born.
32. A medical staff who was incredibly sensitive to my severe peanut allergy (I believe this was spearheaded by our angel of a nurse listed above). Their concerns about my exposure to people who might have had peanuts led them to allow us to stay in our delivery room the whole night and next day after Benjamin's birth, and then move to a private room in the birthing center where we had wanted to be all along.
31. A healthy, safe, and beautiful Benjamin in our arms after the whole thing was over! Because I had to be induced, I was on constant fetal monitoring throughout labor. Even though this wouldn't have been my choice (I had envisioned being free of such "hindrances of modern medicine" as I labored), I distinctly remember being able to hear the rhythm of Benjamin's heartbeat and how reassuring that was to me.
I still look back and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was present with us in every detail. My prayer is that this experience will stregthen my faith and my confidence that, yes, God does move on behalf of His children. No, it doesn't always look like we had "envisioned" but it is always always always for His glory and our greater good.
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