A Sequel

Y'all seem to like a good story, so I will bless you with another one.

This is a sequel to the previous story.

I think we will title our new series, "Barb's Life On Display For All To See" or better yet, "God's Love On Display For All To See!"  Yes, I like that much better!

In the last episode, you will remember that God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl, through quite amazing and difficult circumstances.  We will begin the next episode three months after Nina arrived home.

Totally enjoying my new little baby, I was slightly surprised, and more than slightly terrified to discover that I was pregnant, yet again.  For those of you that have suffered multiple miscarriages, you know that a positive pregnancy test is not the purely joyful event that it used to be. While happy to see that little + sign, the next emotion was utter, raw fear.  After having three miscarriages in a row, I had every reason to believe that I would soon be dealing with loss and grief all over again.  My heart still hurt over the babies we lost.  I did NOT want to go through that again....EVER!

Knowing fully that I had done nothing to cause my previous miscarriages did not prevent us from taking every precaution conceivable to help this baby live.  Caring for a three year old and a newborn hardly allowed me to lie around all day, but I did the best I could to take it easy.  Nonetheless, I began spotting at around seven weeks.  Certain that this pregnancy would end the way the previous three had, I BEGGED God to spare this child.  In my head, doubts crept in about whether He even cared for me at all.  I mean, really, how much did God expect me to go through? Did I have to lose another baby?

In all my fear and doubting something strange happened. My cat ate the top off a baby bottle nipple!

***Pause, for scratching of heads, and asking "what does this have to do with ANYTHING!"****

My cat had done this before when Evan was born.  It cost us over $300 to save her life, and we vowed never to spend that much money to save the cat's life again. So now, while fully expecting my baby to die, I was going to have to face my cat dying as well.

The vet told us to give her syrup of ipecac to try and get her to throw up the plastic piece.  We did.  She didn't.  The vet said if she didn't throw it up in 24 hours, it would pass on into her digestive tract and lodge somewhere.  If we weren't willing to operate, she would die.  Tick, tick.  Twenty-four hours past and she didn't throw up.

So now, while praying for my baby, I began praying for my cat as well.

TWO WEEKS went by. I continued spotting.  The cat was obviously ill, but did not vomit up that nipple.

Miraculously, one day we came home from church and there on the steps, in a puddle of cat throw-up, was the nipple.  I started sobbing.  Not because the cat was going to live (although I was happy about that), but because God had just shown me that He cared about something as insignificant as my little cat, surely he cared even more about my unborn baby.  The peace that only He can give flooded over me at that moment.

In September, Miss Molly came into this world.  A gift from God!