It was a time of waiting. For what, you ask? For the birth
of our baby – second baby, to be precise. Well, the doctors had estimated a
‘due date’ for the baby. But, three weeks before the due date, the baby is considered
full term and he could be born anytime. I didn’t think much about the ‘waiting’
part till I was in it myself. (By the way, our first son John arrived four
weeks earlier than his due date, much before I even started waiting.)
The anticipation peaked when I started noticing signs that
the baby is getting ready for birth. Signs are supposed to make it easy, aren’t
they? True, but I had been having false pains for about a month. May be, that’s
not a good enough sign. How about the baby’s position? He was in birth position
for about four weeks. When the due date was about 2 and a half weeks away, the
doctor examined me and said the baby could be born any time. Now, that brings
up a lot of things for me, and for us as a family. For one, I was excited that
I am closer to holding my little one. Plus there are the preparations to be
done. The hospital bag was packed. A day went by. I almost spent that day
sitting in the couch waiting for signs of labor pain. No signs! May be, that’s
not the way to wait. I decided to carry on with my regular chores – not that I
could do much carrying a precious person inside my bulging belly.
That reminded me of how we should wait for the Lord’s second
coming. We are not to sit lazily and keep looking at the sky, but we ought to
work diligently. If the master returns
and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell
you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But
what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and
he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master
will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces
and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:46 – 51)
The next morning, my husband Daniel had to decide whether to
go to work or work from home. He can’t keep telling his employer that the baby
is going to be born soon. ‘Soon’ could be anything from a day to a week, or
even a couple of weeks! If he goes to work and I am in labor, it might take a
lot of time for him to drive back home and then take me to the hospital. Reluctantly,
he got ready to go to work. John and I waved him bye. As I was wondering what I
would do if the baby arrives today, I just turned that thought into prayer,
committing into His Hands who knows all! In a few minutes, Daniel came back,
because the car wouldn’t start. Wow! That was a quick answer to prayer.
Immediately, we felt it was going to happen today. But, we had to get the car
working first. The battery had to be replaced, and it was done in an hour. So,
Daniel ended up working from home that day. But no signs of labor. That was a
little disappointing because of all the anticipation.
I had some pain in the evening, but I had read enough on the
topic to dismiss it as false labor pains. Apparently, the main difference is
that real labor pains are rhythmic, while false pains are random in intensity
and timing. Soon, the pain subsided and I went to bed at night. I was woken up
early in the morning by painful contractions. I did what I had been accustomed
to do in the last few weeks. I noted the time of each contraction. One hour
went by, and the contractions were exactly five minutes apart. I waited for a
few more minutes, and did what the doctor had instructed me to do. “Call when
the contractions are five minutes apart for one hour,” she had said. Soon, we
rushed to the hospital – Daniel, John and I – in the wee hours of the day. We
had to figure out our way in – because some doors were locked at that time of
the day – stopping at a couple of places, asking for directions. Oh, but wait,
the pains had subsided by then. False alarm?
Yes it was, as the doctor soon confirmed. But, how am I to
know when it’s real labor pain? I followed the instructions, and I was looking
for the signs. “Call when the contractions are five minutes apart for one
hour,” the doctor confirmed. “We can examine you and confirm if it is the real
thing or not.” We went back home with all the hospital bags we had brought!
Daniel took the day off and we took a good nap.
The same evening I had some pain again, and we went to the
doctor’s office. Again, it was false alarm. Next time, the doctor asked me to
wait till the pain continues for 2 hours. By this time, I was getting
embarrassed about creating a scene each time. Getting the three of us into the
car to go the doctor in this cold weather, with so many winter clothes on, was
no fun. I resolved not to wake up Daniel even if I have pain again, and I
continued with my regular chores – cooking, cleaning, etc. I tried to ignore
all about the ‘waiting’ and went to bed. Early in the morning, about 4:15 AM, I
woke up in pain again. Not again, I thought!! But this time, I did not even get
up from bed. I just picked up my phone and noted the time each time I had a
painful contraction. They were about 3 minutes apart, and the pain was intense.
Well, yesterday too, I thought the pain was intense. I didn’t want to look like
a drama queen again. So I kept quiet, but Daniel woke up and caught me rolling
in pain. After waiting for one and a half hours (the pain was getting very
intense), we called the doctor and rushed to the hospital. The temperature
outside was 2o F – the coldest I had ever witnessed in my life!
I knew the baby would be born in a few hours, and we had to
get to the hospital soon. Thankfully, the hospital is just a few minutes’ drive
from home. I walked (yes, in the middle of active labor!) from the hospital
entrance to the labor room. I needed no directions, for I had walked the same
route just yesterday! Everyone who saw me on the way knew I was in labor – the
look on my face was enough to say it.
I entered the labor room at 6:30. It was 6:59 when I was
holding little Jeremy in my arms. The day was the 08th of January. What a joy it was to behold a little human
being, handcrafted by God! It was as if there was a lot of wait, and just when I
had given up the wait, he was born suddenly. The birth was so sudden that we
didn’t even have the time to find someone to look after our first son, and he
ended up being in the labor room to welcome his little brother!
One of the nurses who was helping me during the labor asked
if we have a garage where we park the car. When I said no, she expressed surprise that our car had
even started that morning, considering how cold it was. When I told her we had
changed the battery just two days back, she was even more surprised and agreed
that it was a miracle. Yes, it was! Though we didn’t understand all about the
waiting, we later realized that God was at work.
Coincidence or not, one of those days, I came across this
verse as I was reading my Bible: “For you know quite well that the day of the
Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people
are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on
them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no
escape.” (I Thessalonians 5:2) I couldn’t help but notice the commonalities in
waiting for the baby and waiting for the return of the Lord! Come soon, Lord Jesus!!
