| What a Miracle ! |
| Prelude |
| It was Feb 2002 when Pei was first tested positive for our first baby. We had committed our family plans to God since Oct 1999. Our joy however was shortlived as the pregnancy self-aborted soon at the 7th week. Pain was there but we could only rely on God's strength and hope in His goodness and faithfulness. Thank God also for the friends and family, both in France and Singapore who helped encouraged us on. His word renewed our hopes and faith, especially for Pei who found new desire to feed on His word after visiting a Christian website, The Owlnook. His word firmly promise God's love for us and all things work for the good of those who love Him. So we believed our little setback is but only a prelude to blessings from God. And we moved on.......... |
| New Beginning |
| Life was good for us in France till Dec 2002 when it got better. Pei tested positive again. All was fine although the 9 months' of pregnancy did'nt come without struggles which we'd define as distractions. We termed it as such because these incidents always come on the eve of good things (God had given us an English service to gather all Christians for worship and fellowship. CG was formed and ministering well). It was important thus for us to keep faith and not be stung by the stigma of previous experiences, lest we lose focus of God's goodness. First, Pei had bad morning (& night) sickness which only eased off in the 2nd trimester. Pei was also diagnosed once during the pregnancy with gestational diabetes. This however was cleared after one week without need for medication (only revised diet). Next, for strange reasons, Pei was diagnosed through urine tests, not once but twice during pregnancy, with bacteria infections. And not just one but three types of bacteria. These were cleared each time after a re-test. Finally, most worrying of all was the threat of premature delivery. Pei started experiencing contractions as early as the 26th week of pregnancy. Her cervix was also found slightly open. These were abnormal signs and Pei was instituted with bed rest. Her gynaecologist arranged home visits by the midwife to monitor Pei's condition. At one point of time, Pei was even hospitalised for monitoring but discharged after two days. We did not follow the bed rest strictly though as we still needed to attend church and CG (Fri, Sat & Sun) as feeding on His word, worship and fellowship is vital to our living. |
| God is good. Amidst the struggles and distractions, He gave us hope and watched over us like a Shepherd. This we were sure because He spoke. He did it through His word and revelation. One such revelation came to John during one of the church service when God promised that our baby is His creation and a gift to us (John's bible feeding at that time was on God's promise of Isaac to Abraham which was a fruit of faith by God's grace, not self-effort) . At that moment, Pei experienced the anointing of the Holy Spirit which was pleasant and brought peace and hope. We only found out the coincidence of events after the service. God's goodness was not only spiritual but physical as He blessed us materially through kind friends and family. We received many useful gifts, some of which were not easily available in France. This include sound pregnancy and parenting advice, books, clothings, equipment, furniture, etc. Indeed God is good and meet our needs according to His riches and glory. |
| His Promise |
| The Delivery |
| On the 31st July, after 39 weeks of pregnancy, we checked into the hospital in the morning after a sign of 'show'. It was all calm and relaxed with no panic. Pei had time to bathe, have breakfast, visit the toilet and prayer before we checked in. She then underwent monitoring in the labour ward through out the day experiencing regular contractions but not intense. It was relaxed and we could even enjoy a McDonald lunch together and take photos for memory sake. Her cervix in the meantime began dilating quickly from 2cm in the morning to 5cm in the afternoon. The labour pain was controllable with exercise. At 1830hrs, she was moved to the delivery ward when her cervix was found dilated to 8cm. Labour pain only then started to get intense. This lasted two hours before Caleb was delivered. No epidural was administered, but episiotomy was carried out. On hindsight, the early contractions since 26th week of pregnancy were good as it perhaps exercised the uterus and allowed quick dilation of the cervix during delivery . The baby was of an optimal size for normal delivery. Had he been larger, according to the midwife, he would have had problem squeezing past the birth canal. |
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| Praise the Lord ! |