Make Today about Him

Galatians 6:2 (NASB) “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

This week, I was blessed beyond measure to be able to speak at the MOPS meeting that I go to each month as a member.  I can't express enough the gratitude I feel for being able to share our story of hope in the month of March, which is a month that I usually dread somewhat.  While the birthdays we get to celebrate this week are a highlight, I usually spend the 13 days after March 6th feeling an array of emotions, allowing myself to remember and honor those days with Brady 6 years ago.  I usually shed lots of tears, both of joy and from sorrow, and we celebrate his life many ways.  This year, I want to blog more in hopes that our story reaches someone who needs to hear it.  So, here is my first installment for March!  It's a slightly altered introduction from my speech, and the "short version" of what the last few years have been like for our family.

Our Story

Andy and I were married in 2000, and had a lot of difficulty getting pregnant and turned to IVF.  We had our first son, and then 2 years later, we did another round of IVF and had triplets.  I had what they call a “sub-chorionic hemorrhage” during both pregnancies, so I had limited activity and lots of monitoring.  Our first baby was born full-term, but the triplets came at 30 weeks.  They all weighed around 2 lbs. and despite being so small, were all off of their ventilators hours after being born.  However, within a week, Brady developed an infection, began having kidney problems, and couldn’t recover.  After many, many prayers and sleepless nights, Andy and I chose to take Brady off of his ventilator and allow him to be with Jesus in Heaven.  Brady was 13 days old when he died.

As our children grew, many people would ask if we were done having children.  We always responded that we didn’t know.  I did not have a desire to have any more children for many reasons-the difficult pregnancies, the lack of sleep, and barely keeping up with the 3 toddlers that we already had are just a few of them!  The doctors had told us that having a baby “on our own” was pretty much impossible.  So, when I discovered that I was pregnant in 2012, I was beyond shocked.  The complications started right away, and it was my most difficult pregnancy of all of them.  I was on partial bed rest at home for as long as we could manage it, with many trips to the ER and doctor because of possible miscarriage.

In August, at only 26 weeks into my pregnancy, I went to the hospital because we thought I may be having a placental abruption, and our doctor had told us time was critical if that were to happen.  When we got to the OB floor, we found out that Luke was not in distress, but had very low amniotic fluid.  So, for the next 4 weeks, I spent my time in a hospital bed, while Andy took care of our 5 year old and two 3 year olds at home.  On September 27^th, baby boy began showing signs of distress in-utero, so we had an emergency c-section (my third one-not a fan).  He weighed 3 lbs 5 oz and spent 6 weeks in the NICU, and even though he had some complications, he did well overall.

He came home in November, and was home for 5 weeks before he got sick from a common cold virus and had a cardiopulmonary episode.  Andy was in Texas for work, and by the grace of God, my Mom was with us.  I had to give him CPR until an ambulance arrived, and they were able to get him intubated and began breathing for him, at which point his heartrate came back to within normal range.

Today, our oldest is 8 years old and a second grader.  The triplet's birthdays are on Friday of this week, which is so special to me that I get to be here and share our story with you all in honor of Brady.  Our little survivors will be 6 years old, and are Kindergartners, and our youngest is a wild, typical 2 year old, who is spoiled rotten! So, that is the “short version” of what the last 10 years held for our family.  But, while these details are important, what is MOST important is HOW we got through these unimaginable times.  And I am here to tell you that it is ONLY because of God.  ONLY because of Jesus, and the blood he shed on that cross.  ONLY because of the Holy Spirit filling Andy and I with a peace that transcends understanding.  We didn’t just survive these trials, but became more whole because of them.  We have deeper relationships with each other, with God, and a hope and trust in the Almighty that I never knew before we lived through all of this.

So, today is about Him-God, and how he helped us through these moments, and how He can help you face mountains that you never thought you could.  It’s about hope, peace, trust, and faithfulness.  I hope to share these moments, so that even one of them may help you cope with something that you are hurting with today.  It’s my hope that you find the courage to also help others in their time of need, because, friends, we all have times when we need others to help carry our burdens.  That is what community is about, and what God calls us to do.