Stirring in the Womb

Today is my daughter's birthday. She turned 22 years old. That makes 23 years of miracle.

Right after my husband and I were married, I took some classes at a local college. It was a liberal arts college where the students all studied the same subjects at the same time, so the incoming freshman I started with remained together for sophomore, junior and senior years. I became ill the second half of junior year. I thought I had a bad flu, but it dragged on and on. I finally went to the doctor. I definitely had a sinus infection, but the other symptoms were strange. The nurse at the doctor's office asked if I might be pregnant. I didn't think that was possible given the diagnosis I received before. Four specialists from different practices at different times told me I could not conceive without medical intervention - even if I conceived, I would likely miscarry. The pregnancy test the nurse gave me was positive. I wish I remembered the date I received that pregnancy test, but it was sometime mid January of 1998

A month earlier during Advent, I was reading the Gospel of Luke 1:35 - "And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you..." At the moment I read this verse, I felt a stirring in my womb, a warmth and the feeling of weightlessness. I wondered if this might be a sign that I would conceive, but given my diagnosis, I wasn't counting on that happening. I thought of this experience as being gifted with how this might have felt for our Blessed Mother when she conceived. I went about my days and weeks as usual. Christmas that year was a very joyful one having spent it with my husband's family. I believe I conceived on Christmas day or within a few days after. A couple weeks later, I was feeling very sick. As we all now know, I might have started out with the flu, but the symptoms that remained were from my pregnancy.

I was too sick to attend classes. I missed the first several weeks. When I finally could manage the nausea, I went back. My classmates didn't know why I was gone. I asked my teacher if I could announce my pregnancy during class and she agreed. The roar of clapping and cheering at the announcement of my pregnancy were deafening. The clapping and cheering went on to what seemed to be forever. I never experienced joy to that magnitude.

After class was over, some of my classmates came to me privately and said, "I was praying for you, Mrs. Hayes." As the week progressed and the word got around campus: "I was praying for you, Mrs. Hayes." " I was praying for the gift of children for you, Mrs. Hayes." "Mrs. Hayes, when I was serving at Mass, I would ask God for the gift of children for you as you were receiving Communion." So many people persistently prayed.

A few months later, I bumped into my family doctor who's practice we had to leave because of insurance changes. She hadn't seen me in a couple of years. When she saw that I was pregnant, she took my hands into hers and said, "This is a miracle! You are so blessed. It is not possible for you to have conceived. This is medically unexplainable. You are so blessed."

I believe that every person who prayed for us, every person who thought for even a split second that it would be good for us to have children, took part in bringing about this miracle. It is a miracle that not only happened once, but happened four times over ( five pregnancy altogether, two miscarriages). All children are miracles, but for my three here on earth, along with the two in Heaven, it is more profoundly true.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who prayed for the gift of children for us and also to those who wished us well. Thank You, Lord, for hearing us! Thank you for Your precious gift of these children! Praise You, Lord Jesus!