Favored to Give Birth Again

I write this post today as I sit in front of my youngest son's hospital room window. Rain clouds, grey skies, and rain are what I see as I look outside.

 

He has been confined since Monday night due to on and off fever and below normal platelet and white blood cell count. Since that night when we brought him to the ER, hospital staff had been extracting blood from him every day to test if his platelet and white blood cell count have improved and within normal limits. Sadly, the past two blood tests showed that they are still not within normal limits; though the latest result showed signs of improvement.

 

My husband and I together with our eldest son are all here with him... watching over him, playing with him, reading to him, feeding him.

 

It's so tempting to give in to worry again and despair over work tasks that we need to do but can't while we are here.

 

I choose to focus on the good and the blessings that each rainy day brings instead.

 

Like today, I realized, while looking at the raindrops on the window, that our blessings each day are so much more compared to our cares. Yes, there are things that happen each day that make our lives far from perfect. But there are many more that we can be thankful for and we can praise God for.

 

I count my blessings today, big and small, and slowly my heart fills so full of love and joy.

 

If God can grant me my trivial food cravings today (avocado shake and macaroni salad), surely He can and will grant my more important prayers (healing my son and making a way for all the things that need to be done for my upcoming book).

 

The 3-Minute Retreat at Loyola Press today affirms this insight.

 

God spoke these words to my heart as I meditated on the reflection:

 

"The Lord favors you and is with you!"

 

I thank God for the grace to focus my eyes on my blessings and on the truth. If not for His grace, I would be easily disappointed and I could give in to despair. I could question the truth that He has just spoken that I am favored by Him.

 

When we go through challenges, it's sometimes difficult to see that God favors us. We could easily question this truth because challenges can block our vision.

 

Thus, amidst the rain and grey skies today, I praise and thank God that His favor rests in me. I praise and thank Him for being with me -- wherever I am. And yes, I believe that He is with me now as I care for my sick child in the hospital.

 

I thank Him for this big favor of giving me another child to care for and nourish through my breasts. I thank Him that He chose to bless me not with only one but two miracles, two children from my own womb!

Let me quote from Genesis 49:25 what Jacob said about our God.

 "the Almighty... blesses [us] with...the blessings of the breasts and of the womb."

 

I thank Him also for choosing me to give birth again to a new "baby." Like Mary, I didn't know at first how I can I give birth to this new baby but God granted me grace to believe. He gave me the strength to say YES to His invitation and now I'm about to give birth again. 

 

I'm giving birth soon not to a baby boy or girl but to a new book -- BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking. I praise and thank God for sustaining me this far. I believe and I claim that He will continue to walk with me and will even go before me in this path.

 

My upcoming book's front cover.

 

On this far from perfect rainy day in my life, I thank God for the just enough grace He has given me to remain positive and hopeful and to rejoice even in the imperfect life I have.

 

Is it raining now outside your window, too? Can you see countless raindrops there? Do you also see those raindrops to be symbolic of the blessings in your life? I hope so.

 

P.S.

You can already order a copy/copies of my upcoming book to me. Just email me at teregmps@yahoo.com.