Thankful for Life

I am constantly reminded of the beauty, wonder and sanctity of life.  At my birth, I was born nearly ten weeks premature and weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs. and 10 oz.  About twelve hours later, I was flown about 230 miles away so that I could receive the best care and treatment possible for my tiny and fragile body.  My parents were told I had a 50/50 chance of making it through the night and that if I pulled through, the first three days would also be critical.  If I made it through each of those days, then I'd have a much greater chance of survival. I'll never be able to imagine all my mom and dad went through in the first few days and weeks of my life.  My parents had already been through the pain of losing five children before birth and now they living with the uncertainty of me possibly not surviving either.

Me at 21 days old

After about six weeks, though, despite all the problems and complications, with much prayer and great care from the doctors and nurses, I was finally able to go home!

The day I got to home from the hospital

Nearly five years later my brother was born - prematurely as well, though in better condition than I.  He too survived because of God's hand on his life.  

What if I had never been born?  What if my parents had given up hope of having children after they had lost their first one?  What if they thought it was too risky to have my brother after all they went through with me and my birth?

My 1st birthday

 

My parents looked not to themselves, but to the Author of life for strength and wisdom.  Read these words the King David wrote about himself:  

Psalm 139:13-18

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you. 

Here Congressman James Lankford boldly shares the truth about how important life is and how we must protect the rights of those yet to be born who are not able to speak for themselves.

Today, I thank God for giving me life.  I thank my parents for trusting God and not looking to themselves or to the culture for wisdom or for the right answers.  I thank them for giving me life as well.  Most importantly, I thank God for the eternal and abundant life only He can offer each and every one of us!