Praise God!

Dave is waiting for his brick. Not a literal brick, but that something that figuratively hits you in the head and says, Wake up. This is what you should be doing with your life. Although I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up, I am not waiting for my brick. There have been too many times in my life when some kind of Mystery formed connections (not necessarily human) that somehow told me to go in a certain direction. That's how I found myself in South Africa in the summer of 2004.

That same Mystery has recently formed connections, and I give thanks to God for knowing that I have had enough for a while and that I needed a rest from the stress I talked of yesterday. I honestly believe He answered our prayers and sent an earth-bound angel to show us the way.

One of the reasons I've not held back telling people about Lily is because I believe that people have connections with other people who have connections with other people, and somewhere along those connections, we are bound to be introduced to someone who's either had a similar experience or someone who can counsel us or pray for us or someone who works in a medical setting.

A teacher at my school, Debbie, just happened to have one of those connections. She shared with her Sunday School group our situation. There just happens to be a neonatal nurse in her Sunday School group, and this nurse, Molly, offered to talk to us and gave Debbie her phone number.

I called Molly last night, hesitant, because I didn't know how to start the conversation. She started it for me by asking if I was seeing a specialist. That was all I needed to get the conversation moving. Not even five minutes into the conversation, she asked if we had chosen a name. I told her Lily, and from that point on, she referred to our baby as Lily. You just don't know how that speaks to me of how a person values her life. I can tell what kind of medical professional I'm dealing with by that one little act.

Molly praised both my OB and the high-risk doctor. She even admitted that the high-risk doctor didn't have much bedside manner, but he has a plan for everything and he is very knowledgeable. She told me I could give my OB her name, too. She suggested that I have Lily at University instead of Trinity because University has a Level 3 intensive care unit and that could be beneficial for me and for Lily.

So many other topics came up. . .

• get the ecocardiogram--this will allow preparation in the event cardiologists are needed
• have more ultrasounds--more "problems" may show themselves and the doctors will know how to react at her birth. Plus, it will allow us to get the correct team together
  
• the first hour of Lily's life will determine a lot
• the group that Molly works for will help us determine a plan that will meet the specific needs of our family
• due to T-18 babies not having the same problems, the above plan will be Lily's own specific plan
• comfort will be the #1 priority
• the three neonatologists we would be dealing with are all Christians. They believe that God is the giver and taker of life and that they are vessels of His service. They will even pray with us! Do you know how comforting this is to hear?!?!?
  

Molly is wonderful! Before I even called her, she had been in touch with the customer relations person at the hospital, telling her to expect our call. At the end of our conversation, she said she would take what I had told her to the doctors and find out more information for us. She'll be in touch on Thursday, she said.

As a little girl, I would play with my brothers' Star Wars action figures. Can you imagine my hand reaching down, grabbing the figure by the shoulders, and placing it exactly where I wanted it to go? That's exactly what I feel has happened to me, with God directing me. I've been picked up and moved to the door I've been searching for for months. A hope that began to fade has been enlivened.

After speaking to Molly, I told Dave all about what she said. He was smiling while I was telling him, so I asked what that was about. He told me, You're giddy. That's the perfect word for it because I was elated to have a release of the pressure that had been stretching me for the past few days, but even better--Lily kicked the whole time I told him. And even better than that--I felt Lily's kicks all day long today. That must have been some rush of adrenaline! (You should now know that many T-18 babies are not very active during pregnancy.)

I believe this was more than just answered prayers. I believe this is evidence of a miracle. I'm flabbergasted that our situation has taken this turn! I'm happily blindsided! For those of you who have been praying for us, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It's so amazing knowing that there are people in the medical profession who will value Lily's life and not give in to the "incompatible with life" mentality. It is even more amazing that you are taking the time to pray for our family. . . and God has not only listened, he's answered!