D.J. is my third child. The other two before him were born early. One at six weeks and one at four weeks. No one expected me to be able to carry a baby to term. When I was pregnant with D.J., we were very involved with the missionaries in the area. I made them milk, (it was freeze-dried and we all liked it), took them places, hosted discussions in my home, let them use my washer and dryer and any number of other things you do to help young men who are away from home on their missions.
I went into labor six weeks early, while I was at church. I was pretty upset, because we knew this baby would be small. My husband and the missionaries gathered with me in a vacant classroom and gave me a blessing. One of the missionaries gave the blessing. He blessed me with heath and strength and that I would be able to endure my labor. I thought at the time that was interesting, but was glad that I would get through it. Little did I know.
We went to the hospital where I was in labor. They admitted me and decided to try and stop the labor. They were actually successful, something they had not been able to do with the other children. I was put on bed rest and sent home. I had to go back to the hospital several times to have the labor stopped. I had contractions continuously ranging from mild to hard.
Finally, after four weeks, they did an ultrasound on the baby and said I could go ahead and deliver him. They took me off of bedrest and off of the medications. I kept having contractions, but now, they weren't doing anything. I had never carried a baby to term before. Finally, two weeks past his due date, the doctors decided to induce me before the baby got too big. After being in labor for over eight weeks D.J. was born.
I truly learned the meaning of "enduring my labor".
To this day, we laugh about that. The next three children were all born early. I never carried one of them to term. Only that one pregnancy at that one time with the blessing of a young missionary. I know that Heavenly Father answered his prayer. He didn't answer it in the way that I wanted, but he did answer it. I know that there was a reason that I needed to be able to endure the labor.
In our lives, there are often answers to prayer that do not happen in quite the way we planned. We think that we need one thing, and Heavenly Father sends us something else entirely. Looking back, we can see that the gift we received was exactly the one we needed at the time. But we won't recognize that until much later. Today, I am thankful for the gift from my Father in Heaven. I know that He is always mindful of us, His children. He loves us and He wants us to be happy. May you trust Him enough to let Him answer your prayers in just the way you need.
Oh, and by the way, Happy Birthday D.J.! You are a joy and a blessing in my life. And your were so worth waiting for.
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