Flashback!

I was at the sink, washing my hands, when BAM!  I was suddenly swept back to 2004.  Without a warning, memories came flooding back.

I had been standing in a public restroom at the children's hospital where our third child spent the first seven weeks of his life.  I was there with him for a routine visit, one of many we make each year.  I was thinking of finishing up, driving home and picking up my other kids from after school care.

But suddenly, my thoughts were hijacked to another time, another era in our lives.  The recollections were strong and intense:

The fear of losing our son.

The joy of being surrounded by our family.

The drone of the breast pump.

The intense respect for and confidence we had in our son's doctors.

Our son's sweet, chubby face - the biggest baby in the NICU.

The warm summer air and walks outside with my husband.

The sounds of our other two children, clamoring to get a peek of him - at his bedside or through the NICU window.

The ventilator, oxygen, feeding tube, IV. . .the older children called him our cord baby - we called him our miracle child.

The incredibly skilled nurses, who always wore their rings on a necklace to keep their hands free of any harmful germs.

The beeps and whines and alarms of all the monitors.

The scent of the soap, as we washed our hands time and again each day.

It was a scary time, no doubt about it.  It was filled with joy and peace too, but my goodness, it was scary.  Yet my memories of that summer are always and only positive and happy.  We were surrounded by family daily, hourly and knew our son was in good hands, both the doctors' and his heavenly Father's.  Our son is now a healthy, happy, almost-nine-year old, and looking back to that time only makes me smile.  God answered our desperate prayers to watch over our son, and as He is wont to do, He answered them more generously than we could have ever imagined.


Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:34

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6