I sit here in awe of God, once again, as I remember how God answered a prayer that I did not mean to pray!
How He Answered a Prayer that I Did Not Mean to Pray
What actually happened was that my heart and body called out to God because I had no idea what we would do. For the first time in my life when finding out I was pregnant, my heart sank, I balled my eyes out, fell to my knees, and cried out to God:
Now? What are we going to do? God my husband still doesn’t have a job! I can’t handle another c-section.
Please don’t misunderstand. I was not upset about the beautiful life growing inside me. It had just been a loooong 17 months. We had been taking care of my husband’s grandmother and my husband had not worked that whole time.
Not only that but not three weeks prior I had gotten rid of practically all of our baby items including clothes. So the things “we needed” we no longer had and there was no job available to provide for it.
And the c-section. That 4th c-section in conjunction with Diastasis Recti had taken so long to overcome that I did not want to have another one. I was told by my current OB/GYN that I could have up to 8 c-sections, but I knew there would be a price to pay for doing that.
God’s Gentle Reminder
In the midst of my ugly cry, I felt God say,
“Have I not taken care of you?”
That was enough to calm my spirit. God had definitely taken care of us for the year that we had been taking care of my husband’s grandmother. Actually, he had been taking care of us our whole lives!
So armed with that reminder, I dried my tears and asked God to help me trust Him. Never realizing that he would answer something in that prayer that my heart longed for but my brain would no longer dare to ask.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:25-26
Two Weeks Later God’s Answers the 1st Part of My Prayer
Within two weeks, my husband had two job offers! One was within two hours of where we lived and was my top choice. The other was in a place that I had been to decades before but sadly, all I could remember about it was counting the roadkill as we drove into town.
After visiting both cities with my husband and praying about them, I was overcome with another ugly cry.
Apparently, my 5th pregnancy was filled with lots of ugly crying! Lol!
I knew in that moment that God wanted us in the city that was four and a half hours away and lined with roadkill!
God always has a plan. Sometimes we see some of the “whys” immediately and sometimes we do not.
Within a Month – Surprised with Gifts!
Upon learning that I was pregnant again, friends reached out to me and gifted our family baby items they no longer needed. From a car seat to a breast pump to clothes to cloth diapers to a jumper, all the basics that we needed were taken care of. Once again, God was reminding me that he would provide.
Every time I use one of the items gifted to us, I say a prayer of thanks to God and for those who shared their blessings with us.
Within 6 Months – The Prayer I Didn’t Mean to Pray Was Answered
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect God to work things out the way He did after we moved to Texas.
The quest for a doctor to deliver our precious daughter began. Within a few weeks, a hope began to rise that I never thought was possible. A midwife had told me about a doctor in Denton, TX that specialized in Vaginal Births After Cesareans (VBACS) after multiple c-sections!
God was answering the prayer for which my logical mind couldn’t even ask. I didn’t dare ask because I knew it was impossible. But God isn’t limited by the impossible!
No hospital in Oklahoma, that I knew of, would perform a VBAC after having 4 c-sections. Yet, here, in another state that God had sent us to, there was a man who was willing.
I sent my records over to this OB/GYN hoping and praying that he would accept me as his patient.
At 35 weeks, with eagerness and cautiousness, I saw Dr. Cummings for the first time. After discussing in depth with him my desire, past medical history, and my understanding of the complications, he agreed to allow me to not only be his patient but to have a natural birth. I was going to get my VBAC4!
I must stop here and explain before continuing.
It was my greatest desire from my first pregnancy to have a natural birth. I know c-sections are needed in some cases, but after having so many, I have to admit that it takes a toll on the body. It is major surgery. Our bodies were not made to be cut open again and again and again and again.
Every time, recovery was a little harder. Every time, my longing to be able to have a child the way God intended grew, but with every c-section my hope faded away until God made it happen!
God Made It Happen
On June 16, 2017, our family welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family. We would have rejoiced even if I had another c-section, but we were in awe of God rose up a doctor who loved him and believed with all his heart that God made women’s bodies to give birth.
He was humble and trusted God through the whole process and clearly stated this when I asked him,
“Why? Why do you choose to do this when other doctors won’t?”
His answer was simple. He said,
“I’m a believer. And I believe God made women’s bodies to birth babies. I’m just here to help them along.”
Now, I have a bold new prayer!
I pray that God will raise up more OB/GYNs like Dr. Cummings. He is one man. He cannot do it all and there are many of us, who know our bodies can deliver a child the way God intended, even after having a c-section. We want the chance to have a natural birth. We want hospitals to allow this to happen. And so I pray with all my heart that other doctors will trust God the way Dr. Cummings has trusted God. I pray that with a humble spirit they will be willing to wait for a woman’s body to give birth, encourage the mother to wait for God’s perfect timing in when their child should enter the world, and be ready to step in when it’s necessary.
Being able to have a VBAC4 was a redemptive experience for me. It allowed me to grow closer to God in ways I didn’t realize and brought a new understanding to light, but that is another post.
For now, I’ll just continue to be in awe of how God takes care of each one of us!
I am a mother of 5 crazy, homeschooling children ages 10 & under, wife to an amazing man, and daughter of the King of the Universe!I enjoy reading, making my kids laugh, cooking, all things natural, learning to play guitar and dusting off my piano skills.One day I hope to run again, but until then I’m learning patience.
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