The number 24 means different things to different people. I guess to some, it's double 12. For others, it may represent your birthday. However, for our family today, it represents a 6 week prayerful journey to reach a critical part in my pregnancy. As the storms move in outside today, it would be easy to feel gloomy and long for sunshine. However, for me, it is another reminder that life isn't always sunshine and pretty days. There will be clouds, rain, and darkness. Even in those moments, life is so beautiful; if you chose to see it that way.
As I replay the past 6 weeks in my mind, it is overwhelming. We have traveled such an emotional journey to get to the magic number of "24". During the course of these weeks, we had to do somethings our hearts were not prepared for and I haven't shared with many people. Due to the critical nature of the situation, and the doctor's doubts on survival or extended length of my pregnancy, as Elizabeth's parents we had to write a plan for her. We had specific desires for how we wanted her and our situation handled should God chose to take her home to heaven. If these desires are not specifically stated, the situation can potentially become overwhelming. As part of our plan, we had to contact a funeral home and express our desires and questions to them. I must say, as "strong" as I may have appeared to be over these few weeks, this was surely a weak moment for both my heart and Fred's. As I began to type out our desires, I started my first sentence with this..."This is a plan for our Elizabeth Grace we pray we do not have to implement".
Prayer is not just a word or something people do. It's speaking to God in a way only he can hear. Prayer is communicating with Him both your heart's desires and your praises. Throughout these past few weeks and in the weeks to come, I continue to pray for Elizabeth's continued growth and health. However, I also thank God for the many blessings He has given us; one of which is this pregnancy. I cannot help but to think of how different our lives would have been if we weren't traveling this journey. As hard as it has been and continues to be, we have been drawn so much closer to God and each other. Specificlly, at a time when there is so much stress and emotion, it would be easy to strain a marriage. However, Fred and I have found our strength in each other and our marriage like we have never had before. It hasn't always been "beautiful" and we certainly have stressful moments. However, I have seen my husband hold tight to prayer and to our family like never before. I am so thankful to have him as my partner, husband, and best friend as we walk this journey together with God at our side.
Today has been a wonderful day of continued rest. Although I have a fairly bad head cold and have had some mild cramping, I otherwise feel great. I am anxiously anticipating my nurse's visit tomorrow so we can begin the first of two steriod injections for Elizabeth. We will follow the first one with a second injection with my 17P injection on Wednesday and visit my specialist on Thursday. All seems to be holding stable and we continue to pray for many more weeks with Elizabeth growing in my womb.
We continue to trust His plan and remain faithful in prayer for Elizabeth Grace as the days, and weeks move on. We still do not know what her future holds, or ours, but we do know God remains in control and Elizabeth Grace is a living example of the power of prayer.
Look closely at the picture above. Elizabeth has her face turned to the camera, with her mouth open, and is giving us a "thumbs up". God spoke through her and she reassured us, and each of you, all will be well.
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