Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Jehovah Ha-Ha!

My girlfriend Missie has this thing she calls Jehovah Ha-Ha... God's sense of humor. It pops up in the most unexpected places. She'll call me and tell me a story, God working in her life in one way or another, surprising her, reminding her that she's not the one who is really in charge. Jehovah Ha-Ha.

For example my friends Beth and Tony... they just experienced the best case of Jehovah Ha-Ha I have ever been privileged to be a part of.

This is my friend Beth. And that little miracle, or should I say Jehovah Ha-Ha, that she's holding is her newborn son, Matthew. Matthew was born on Thursday night. See, my friend Beth had absolutely no idea she was pregnant. None. Zero. Nada. Zip. In fact, she was sure she wasn't pregnant. How's that you ask? She went for her yearly check up 2 months ago. Got checked out. Inside and out. You'd think if you were pregnant, an OB could tell. Especially from that angle. Nope. Apparently, her OB was absent from med school the day they taught their students what a pregnant cervix looked like. She missed it. Instead, my friend has been running tests up one side and down the other looking for tumors, messed up glands, other things that could be causing her grief.

And on Thursday night, her water broke. She had been told she shouldn't have any more babies. Beth doesn't have babies. She gives birth to toddlers. Her 2 girls were 12+ pounds at birth. So having another toddler, just wasn't in the cards for my friend. See, the doctors told her her uterus was prolapsed, blah, blah, blah... and bladder problems. So when her water broke on Thursday night, she thought something was wrong with her bladder. It wasn't until she and her husband were almost to the hospital that she realized she was feeling contractions. Then she decided she was miscarrying a 2 month old baby. After all, 2 months ago she was decidedly not pregnant.

Ten minutes after being checked in, and getting snubbed by the ER doc, her husband found out little Matthew was crowning. Luckily, someone had taken them seriously when she told them she might be in labor and called the labor and delivery nurses. They arrived just in time to catch him. And they were just as surprised as my friend was that no one could figure out how old he was. After some quick analysis, they decided he was 32 weeks along. He had a healthy umbilical cord and gave a good holler for Mama and Daddy, so other than being a little early, he's doing great. He was a whopping 4 lbs, 12 oz. Nice size for a 32 week baby. Imagine how big he'd have been had he waited 8 more weeks! As of yesterday, he was doing well, trying to eat, and strengthening his lungs so he could go home with his family.


When I met my friend Beth, I asked her if she was finished. Done with 2 girls. She said it didn't look good for her. And besides, she was looking forward to enjoying life in her early 40s with her girls off to college. The oldest one is a senior and the youngest one is a sophomore. Now, when Matthew graduates from high school, the oldest will be 35.

Jehovah Ha-Ha. See, just when you think you have it all planned, you know what's what, God surprises you and let's you know He's still in charge.


This is the best surprise my friends have ever had. What a gift from God. And it couldn't have happened to a better family.


Congratulations Beth and Tony! And welcome to the world, little Matthew!

3 comments:

Kristen said...

Wow.. this is a story that should put in a newspaper! It is amazing know that God works in mysterious ways.

At the end of the article you wrote.. it brought tears to my eyes knowing that a small newborn baby capture EVERYBODY's heart!

*hand waves* good job tera!

Aloha Ya'll! said...

Too funny! This same thing happened to a girl at our church when we lived in GA. She had been going to the doctors for months trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She finally found out about 5 days before she went into labor. She kept laughing and saying she had an "instant" baby. "Just add water and stir!"

Kristin - The Goat said...

I cannot imagine all of a sudden having a baby. Someone run to the store and get a carseat so we can take this bundle home with us. Oh, pick up some diapers, too. Let's make a list.

Jehovah haha is right. Congratulations to your friends.

Have a great day!
Kristin