What treasured times we live in. We are surrounded by opportunity to ‘draw near to God, resist the devil and see him flee from us!” Sometimes easier said than done, but when we experience the outpouring of love from our heavenly Father, in the most uncertain of situations, we can give birth to joyful testimony.
One such treasure is the birth of a child. The happy parents and family eagerly await the expected time of arrival. Wondering whether its boy or girl, who will they look like, what name to choose? Recalling family names, ancient and modern, sometimes having a laugh about them; the usual stuff. That’s what it was like after we received the announcement another grandchild was on the way, due February 2015. Everyone was excited about the prospect of a baby brother or sister for three year old Sammy. He wanted a baby sister and a few weeks later the scans revealed that was exactly what he was getting. As you can see the expectations were great and life continued as normal with plans for Christmas, the New Year and a trip to Disney Land in full swing. Because no one expected the unexpected to happen and that everything was about to change.
Our fourth grandchild, a beautiful baby girl named Hannah Maria, was born on November 17th, 2014, three months earlier than expected. Her mother was barely twenty-seven weeks pregnant when she unexpectedly went into labor caused by an unknown (and still undiagnosed) infection which had spread through her body, threatening her vital organs and infecting her baby.
Despite the uncertain and emotional roller coaster ride, the love and support of praying family, friends and prayer partners spreading around the world was nothing short of amazing. This precious baby so unready to come into this world was bathed in glorious Peace. And her mother and father felt such strength in the peace God surrounded her with. This tiny, fragile life should have been hidden for another three months. God gave us the privilege to witness the miracle of life developing before our eyes, something which normally should be reserved for His eyes only.
She was so tiny, just over 1kg (2lbs), little more than skin and bone. Her tiny face was still taking shape but she was ALL there, perfectly, fearfully and wonderfully being made. And remarkably, the date God planned for this little one to be born was World Prematurity Day.
The High Dependency Baby Unit incubator is the most appreciated pieces of modern technology I have seen in ages. Tubes for antibiotics, feeding, breathing, monitoring heart rate, oxygen levels and more, all bleeping and recording every second, minute, hour of the days, weeks and months. This was going to be a long haul and I so thank God for the expertise, patience and sensitivity of medical staff. God bless them.
Despite all this incredible invasion of Hannah’s tiny body, she actually smiled the day after she was born, when her mother whispered to her that Mamma, Dadda and God loved her. She has been smiling ever since. Thereafter God answered prayer after prayer with a quick miracle.
She was quickly cleansed of the infection she was born with. Head scans that revealed abnormal fluid levels around her brain one day, showed perfect fluid levels the next and the bleeding on her brain was cleared quickly. With every medical update the parents received from the doctors, prayer calls went out, and they were all answered within hours or a day or two. The Doctors who treated mother and baby during labor were surprised at how quickly they both made progress.
It is all about knowing our God beyond a shadow of doubt, taking that faith and knowledge and applying it to those we dearly love as well as those we’ve never met. Wanting the outcome that they want for their situation, as much as they do, identifies us with them and into agreement with God on their behalf. This is where the Hagee Ministries prayer team came into their own, and do so every day of the week. We found this especially so for Hannah, her parents and brother Sam. Praying for supporters and anyone who calls for help is a key part of Hagee Ministries and the prayer team’s purpose, and there are countless testimonies of answered prayer, praise God!
Being an intercessor, I would often find I would be on ‘night watch’ and not sleep at night, only to find Hannah’s mother had slept well. Her gain made my loss worth it, especially since I felt such a strong presence of the Lord. I enjoyed it!
When Hannah was six days old her mother held her for the first time. A precious moment we were able to see as it was the first time we could visit her. A week or so later she could sleep in her mother’s t-shirt like a baby kangaroo in a pouch, she looked so secure and always loved it. Although she was no longer safe in her mother’s womb, a loss for both of them, she remained cradled in the womb of her heavenly Father’s warm loving hands day and night. He held them all the same way, so precious is His love for us, so precious is our love for Him.
At time of writing, the latest miracle in Hannah’s life is that she has been able to come home one month earlier than expected. Why? Because she would only feed from her mother, so she decided herself when she would go home! Otherwise she gets very noisy, as big brother Sammy has found out. What was originally expected has finally arrived home. It is with heartfelt thanks to all our praying family and friends, not least Pastor and Diana Hagee, and all the prayer teams both in the UK and in the US.
We are all allies in our fight for Life!
