Well, it is February again and that means a lot of love around our house! Of course, Valentine's Day comes this time of year, but in the Seiber house there's a lot more going on every February. Mommy and Daddy celebrate their first-ever real date on Valentine's Day (12 years ago now) and we also celebrate birthdays for three little girls. We have lots of fun traditions for Valentine's Day too. We make heart-shaped sugar cookies and have a decorating party. We make lots of construction paper valentine cards. We make a paper chain of pink, purple, and red to decorate the classroom. Daddy always buys special Valentine gifts for his little girls (since, let's face it, it is a girly sort of holiday). Still, with all the celebrations and festivities, this beginning part of February always reminds me of the weeks leading up to the twins' birthday and the important lessons God taught me.
This year, our little miracles will celebrate their fifth birthday. Where has the time gone? I still remember the crazy day we found out about our double blessing. My dad came out to watch the three older children. Joey took a few hours off work to go with me. I just knew we were having a girl. Since we already had boy, girl, boy, having a girl would make it just perfect (at least that's what I thought). I was so excited to find out if Joy would have a sister. Plus, I love ultrasounds. We met the ultrasound tech and he asked us if we had already had an ultrasound with this pregnancy while he started the scan. We told him we had really early on and he replied, "Good, then you know you are having twins." Joey let him know right away that we weren't joking around and we were just there to find out if it was a boy or a girl. Well, he wasn't joking around. He turned on the monitor to let us see. Two beautiful little girls - Two!
We had so much fun telling everyone. It really was the best surprise we had ever had. We wanted to share the joy with everyone. The ultrasound pictures were amazing and we showed them to everyone. I had fun planning out what we needed to double up on.
However, in the midst of all the joy and planning and excitement, there were a few lessons God needed me to learn. You see, on the day of the ultrasound, the technician also saw something of concern for Baby B (Brittany). So my doctor talked to us about it after the ultrasound and scheduled an appointment with a perinatologist. I would see my doctor every other week and the perinatologist every other week until delivery. It was scary to say the least. I was not sure what would happen and I was concerned about my little girls. But God wanted me to learn to lean on Him - for everything. That's what I had to do. Sometimes, when there is no other way, we realize that leaning on Him is really the best way to deal with everything in life. So often, I like to take care of everything myself and then turn to God for the things I can't do on my own. God doesn't want it that way. He desires for us to depend on Him in all things. The uncertainty that I was facing with our girls taught me to lean on the Lord and I'm thankful for that lesson.
Well, the doctors seemed to think that everything was going just fine and both girls were going to be just fine. Then, about 28 weeks along, the contractions started. At about 30 weeks they wouldn't stop and I was admitted to the hospital. You know the worst part about being in the hospital? It's not the food, the food was actually pretty good. It's not the medication (which was dreadful) or the constant needles and blood samples (which were awful too). It's that you can't take your husband and your children with you. Of course, I expected the world (at least my little corner of it) to completely fall apart while I was stuck in the hospital. I mean, how could they possibly survive without me? Turns out, God can take care of all of them too, even without me. Not an easy lesson to learn. God needs me to need Him. He doesn't need me to do laundry, and make dinner, and all the other things I think are completely vital.
Then, God taught me to rely on Him. We had constant ultrasounds in the hospital. At 33 weeks, the perinatologist showed me the girls were both in the frank breach position and would have to be born via c-section. I was devestated. How could I take care of twins (plus three more children) and recover from a c-section. I just didn't know how I could do it. I was so disappointed. I cried to the Lord and He heard my voice. I gave up. I told the Lord that I completely trusted in Him. He had provided for my girls when we were uncertain of their health. He had watched over my family while I was in the hospital. He knew what was best and I would trust in Him. I was content with whatever the Lord had planned for the birth of our girls. Praise the Lord, He provided. Miraculously, both girls turned perfectly by 34 weeks and the c-section wasn't necessary.
When, I think about the scary circumstances surrounding the birth of our girls, I am thankful for how God taught me to lean on Him and how He showed himself strong in our lives. My girls are a testament of God's great grace. Every February, as their birthday approaches, I'm reminded of the tremendous lessons my children have taught me about my Heavenly Father and His goodness to us.
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