Love Storms - Part Two

“Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.  You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts.  Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer,  the Mighty One of Jacob.  Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron.  Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones.  I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.  No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.  The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”                      Isaiah 60:15-20

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.  Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.  And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God.  You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.  Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.”   Isaiah 61:1-7

Love stormed my way a second time in the form of a baby boy two years later.  This time I was too selfish to even consider giving this love away.  I couldn’t do it again.  I somehow felt like he was my only shot.  All I wanted when I was a little girl was to be married and have a lot of kids.  Six, if memory serves.  I had a lot of problems carrying this baby.  After premature labor at 30 some weeks, a week in the hospital, and a month of bed rest, he was born three weeks early.  The fact that I was able to carry for that long was a miracle.  He should have been born at least six weeks earlier.  Still he was born with the cord wrapped around his neck.  It took a few seconds, which seemed like minutes, for him to start breathing.  He was purple and I wasn’t allowed to hold him.  Literally one of the nurses said to me, “here’s your baby”, showed him to me and all but ran out of the delivery room.  I had to wait to touch my son.  I remember my doctor coming into my room and going over all the things that could be wrong with him because of the early delivery and the lack of oxygen at birth.  He gave me a “list” of what to look for as far as mental problems were concerned.  At this point I still was not living for God, yet He performed miracle after miracle for this baby boy without me praying for it.  At 17 years old, my son is perfectly normal.  He never had any learning disabilities or developmental problems.  He doesn’t like homework and is not nerdy like me.  He’ll graduate high school this year, a child who should have been mentally impaired in some way.  God held my baby boy and healed him before any doctor could tell me the list of potential problems.  I know I have not been a great mom.  I know my son deserved a better life than I have been able to give or provide, but he loves me anyway.  I have failed him in so many ways, but he forgives me.  God used this baby to waken in me my need for a Savior.  This child made me realize I needed God in my life.  After many sleepless nights, I asked Jesus to be a part of my life and the life of my baby.  It was still going to be hard being a single mom, but I knew we would be okay.