Lessons brought through obstacles

My nephew Jeremiah (my little sister Bridgette’s son) was born with a birth defect where his esophagus is not connected to his stomach.  He has been at Texas Children’s since he was born almost 3 months ago.  On Thursday he was finally healthy and big enough to withstand surgery to correct the problem.  I have seen and help him 3 times since he was born (that’s another story as to why I haven’t seen him more-another day).  All three times he has been connected to tubes and fighting to breathe properly.  On Thursday after his surgery he had many more tubes in him and several in his mouth.  You could tell he was crying but with all the tubes in his mouth you couldn’t hear it because they were all blocking the sound.  It really hurt my heart.  It was really hard seeing a helpless baby go through that. 

But as I sat in the hospital room watching my little sister Bridgette (who’s only 19 btw) hold and care for her baby it made me realize that God has a plan for this little family.  Bridgette was talking about how when she was pregnant before they found out that he would have problems that she was imagining taking him on walks, giving him baths, feeding him, etc.  She was saying that she took all that stuff for granted that she would be able to do all that.  She has never fed him since he is fed through a tube.  He has never been outside, much less gone on a walk.  She has only been able to give him a sponge bath on certain days of the week.  She is worried that he will be developmentally behind since when he gets out he will have to learn how to do everything-even drink out of a bottle!

 Then I heard a voice in my head say that he won’t be behind and to tell her not to worry, he will catch up very quickly and she will look back and cherish the first 3 months of his life.  She basically has been by herself with him at TX Children’s because her boyfriend/baby daddy lives in Beaumont so he can work.  I told her not to worry and that he will be just fine.  The nurses say that when she is not there he (baby Jeremiah) gets more worked up and anxious than when she is there.  They have really bonded over the past 3 months.  It is really sweet. 

God has used this illness as a teaching tool to make a mother not take for granted all the things a regular mother sometimes takes for granted.  He also showed me not to take for granted all the things that I sometimes overlook. 

So while it hurt my hurt to see him with all the tubes and hurting very badly, I can see why God put this obstacle in place.  He knew that she can handle it and learn from it.  I invited her to church with me on Sunday at New Hope.  I really hope she can come with me and learn from a great church!  I love me some New Hope Church!