One will say, `I belong
to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another
will write on his hand, `The LORD's,' and will take the name
Israel." Isaiah 44:5
That was the verse that stood out to me during my daily quiet time in January 2018. Despite my initial resistance to the idea of having another child - with my second child only 9 months old and me just starting my career after a long break - I felt a strong sense that the Lord was telling me that another baby was on the horizon.
"Three is a good number". My husband and I
had determined early in our marriage that three children was the ideal family
size for us. It could be because of the loving relationship my mom had with her
brother and sister or it could be because of the warm relationship I had with
my own brother. Yet, the thought of having a third child at that point in time
was unimaginable. I simply was not ready, and I told God that.
In September of that same year, a prophetess visited us for a
prayer meeting. As she prayed over me, she declared that God would bless us
with a son named Jeremiah. Despite my initial reaction of "No, I'm not
ready for another child," I couldn't shake the feeling that this was the
Lord's plan for our family.
For the next 1.5 years,
life got very busy with kids, home, and work. I think it was the end of 2019
during my prayer time, when I finally submitted to God's will of having another
child.
The year 2020 dawned and the coronavirus
was just making entry into India. It was March 18th, 2020. My Mom
was on her way back from Odisha. My older daughter had just finished her
first-grade annual exams. So we had planned to send the kids off with my
parents to Vellore. On 19th March, my office announced work-from-home and so my
husband and I decided to go along with the kids to Vellore, stay for the
weekend and come back. We spent the weekend at Vellore but it came as a shock
when the nationwide lockdown was announced. We couldn't go back to Chennai ( I
hadn't locked the windows of my house and had left clothes for drying in the
balcony since we expected to be back in two days). I was extremely thankful
that we could be with the kids at my parents' home in Vellore for the next
couple of months. It was there that I discovered that we were expecting our
third child. Our joy knew no bounds. God had perfectly timed it and was going
to fulfil what he had promised two years ago! I knew that God had a special
plan for this child of promise.
Over the next few months, despite the
pregnancy and the lockdown, we made multiple travels - to Chennai for cleaning
up the home, twice to visit my in-laws in Tuticorin and once to Nagercoil for a
wedding at my 37th week of pregnancy ( you can read it here).
In August 2020, my father-in-law was
tested covid-positive. So, we quarantined him at our parents' place at Vellore.
I was five months pregnant then with two small kids. God's protecting hand was
evident. Soon, the whole neighbourhood was infected- my maid, and people who
helped with our parent's ministry. God made us a blessing to those around us,
in terms of providing them with food.
The pregnancy progressed smoothly and the
greatest blessing was that I could have my husband, kids and parents around me
throughout the pregnancy. I was praying for an easy delivery just like my other
two deliveries. My due date was on Christmas day, but I expected the baby to
arrive a bit late, hopefully on our anniversary a few days later. 24th December
turned out to be a very busy day. My dad, my husband and I went to the market
to buy some snacks to give it away to homeless people who would turn up at our
door on Christmas day every year. We were having guests for dinner that night.
So we went shopping and bought a few presents for them. It was way past lunch
time and so we got home, had lunch and put the kids down for their afternoon
nap. I baked a cake in the evening, packed all the snacks into small packets
that filled an entire cardboard box so that it would be easy to give them away
the next day.
At around 7 pm, our guests arrived. After
a small birthday cake-cutting for one of them, we headed out for dinner. We had
an awesome Christmas Eve dinner and by the time we returned home, it was past
10 pm. I put the kids to bed with their dresses on so that we wouldn't have to
change them for the 5 am Christmas service at church in the morning. It was
past 11 pm when I hit bed. I was so tired that I even forgot it was my due
date.
Mild contractions began at 11:30 pm and I
began monitoring them on my phone app. Contractions were at regular intervals,
and after an hour of monitoring, I knew it was time to go to the hospital. Not
wanting to wake up anyone, I fumbled around in the dark that was lit-up only by
a small nightlamp, re-checked my already packed hospital bag, filled up water
bottles, and got my documents ready. When I sneaked into my mother's bedroom to
get my sweater, my mother woke up. Soon, my parents and I were well on our way
to the hospital. My husband stayed back with the kids who were sleeping. By the
time I was admitted in the labour ward, it was 2:30 am. God answered my prayer
and the labour progressed very smoothly and effortlessly. In just a couple of
hours, at 5 am, the doctor presented us with Jeremy Shelton born naturally, weighing in
at 3.4 kgs, making our Christmas super-special.
God has given me a beautiful gift and
privilege in allowing me to mother three beautiful children. I pray that I will
have a heart that is fully dependent on the Saviour as I raise them and
that my husband and I may have wisdom in the way that we lead
them!
