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Living Word: A Christian Testimony
By Julie | November 11, 2007
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12
When I found out I was pregnant with our second son, I was so excited. I called Marc at work to share our shocking news. He came home early so we could see each other, talk about it, and have a mini celebration before I had to leave for work a couple hours later.
When I went to my evening job that night, the elation started to become fear. I had just returned to work two months earlier, after being a stay at home Mom only, for two years. During that time we had very basic, no maternity health insurance. I had just become eligible for health insurance through work, but I wasn’t signed up yet, and I didn’t know if my new pregnancy would be labeled a preexisting condition, and make us ineligible. I started getting depressed, wondering how we would manage to pay for a pregnancy and delivery on our own.
The next day I set an appointment with our HR person to see if I could become enrolled in their group plan. After I hung up the phone I started getting depressed, the little voice in my head told me our family was in a mess we’d never be able to get out of. I lost my motivation, and listened to my mind ramble. I’m sure I envisioned us living on the streets soon, tucking my son in for the night in a cardboard box on the streets. I can be very good at indulging myself in a self pitying stupor. While I worried, I watched my son play on the floor with some toys. He talked a little, and brought toys and books to share with me. I really wanted to get excited; I was going to have another baby! Another baby to love, a child I would love as much as the little boy sharing his toys with me. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were doomed; life as we knew it was over.
Awhile later my son went into “Mommy and Daddy’s room” (as he calls it). I called to him from the couch, asking what he was doing. He didn’t answer, but made a little noise as he moved things around. Then he was back in the living room with me. I had a strange feeling nagging at me, telling me to go check the room and see what he’d been into. But, everything seemed fine. He hadn’t been in there long enough to mess much up. I sat there talking to him, until I couldn’t take it anymore, and went to see what he’d done. I was stunned when I stepped into the room. My two year old son, who had a small vocabulary and didn’t even know his entire alphabet, had picked up my Bible, opened it up, and left it lying on our bed. He had always loved books. But at this stage in his life he only cared about his books, most of them board books. And if he picked up a book he never left it lying around until after he shoved it in my face and left it there until I picked him up and read the book. It just wasn’t like him to pick up my book and leave it opened up on the bed, especially my Bible.
I walked over to put the Bible back on my bedside table. As I reached for it my eyes fell on the words:
And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. – 1 Samuel 1:6
I couldn’t move for a moment, my eyes locked on the verse, reading over and over. Then I heard a voice, either from God, or reasoning in my own mind saying, “If I could close her womb, I can open yours.” I knew then, that somehow everything would be ok.
It turned out we were able to sign up with my employer’s health insurance. It was more expensive than I expected, but we were able to afford it. The insurance covered 100% of my pregnancy and labor. We paid nothing other than insurance premiums.
I have always heard, and read, that the Bible is the living word of God. Until that day I’ve never had such concrete evidence. Nor, did I know even a two year old without a firm grip on the alphabet could assist God so adeptly. He does work in mysterious ways, but maybe the greater point is simply, He is at work.
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