Advent 5 - Miraculous Births

      Christmas is clearly the celebration of the birth of Christ, and Advent is the expectancy of that birth. However, if you think the birth of Jesus was one heck of story, you should hear the story of the birth of my youngest child, Joshua.
      After returning early from a shopping trip to Dallas (we were living in Arkansas at the time), my former spouse, who was 8 months pregnant, complained of "feeling funny" and eventually of pain. After she suggested that she go to the ER (and after scolding me for asking if she’d like me to accompany her….I know...dumb question, right?) we found ourselves in the hospital for three days as she battled excruciating abdominal pain.
       Finally, the doctors discovered that she was suffering from a ruptured appendix and decided that emergency surgery was necessary. Terrified and anxious, we signed a medical release and prayed for the welfare of both she and our unborn Joshua. The surgery was a success (the doctors realized my wife’s body had created an enclave around her appendix, holding the poison and preventing it from further entering her or the baby’s system….Praise be to God!). However, the story doesn’t end here.
       After the surgery, my wife lingered in unbelievable pain as she suffered not only the discomfort from surgery but also labor contractions that continued throughout the night. Consequently, she was airlifted to the nearest neonatal unit (3 hours away) where, after another day of labor, she delivered Joshua, WITHOUT an epidural.
       To make a long story short, my wife was allowed to come home while a premature Joshua stayed in the hospital. Eventually, however, my wife was re-hospitalized because of infection (due to the enclave that saved our child’s life). So, I found myself with a wife in a hospital 1 hour to the south, a premature newborn in a hospital 3 hours to the north, and both a 3 and 4 year old at home with me as I juggled pastoring a church, teaching middle school and completing graduate school. Needless to say, there wasn’t a boring moment.
       However, after all of the dust was settled, my wife came home….Joshua came home…. I finished graduate school, we were all well taken care of due to the kindness of friends and family and God’s grace was sufficient through it all. So, hopefully you understand that when I think of the stories of miraculous births, and the promise that new life brings, I can’t help but think of Jesus, but also my little Joshua. His infectious smile, super tight hugs and silly antics make me proud to be his dad. And when I look into his eyes, I truly believe that the legacy of the Christ child lives on and that just maybe there’s hope for us humans after all.



-- Rev. Ray Jordan