In looking back at my previous posts, it appears that I have become the once-a-year blogger. Oh my! Never my intention but I guess that life got in the way or something like that. The past year came and went with so much drama and complete boredom all rolled into one. It was the most eventful uneventful year that many of us have ever experienced.
I always find the beginning of a new year exciting for one reason only - Puppy's birthday! Today, January 11, 2021, my Puppy is 19! For the last several days my mind has been racing with memories of the birth of my second-born little girl. The rainbow baby, the one who came after a great loss. My miracle girl, the one who wasn't suppose to be. I can't help but smile as I think of how God worked in such a great and mighty way to bring her into this world.
You see, I was told there wouldn't be babies, ever! Then, I got pregnant with Maggi Kaye, our first born. Sadly she was born prematurely and only lived for 46 hours. Again, I was told that there would be no babies. Believing that God is more powerful than doctors, The Professor and I continued to have faith that we would have a baby as we cancelled the surgery the doctor wanted me to have.
It is that faith that led me to the church altar back in 2001. Following the example set by Hannah in I Samuel, I asked God for a baby. It wasn't that many weeks later that we found out I was pregnant with Puppy. The doctors were wrong. I was having a baby! Overjoyed is an understatement.
The pregnancy was not without complications. I had surgery during the first trimester to keep Puppy safely tucked inside. I was on bedrest for the entirety of the pregnancy. I had numerous emergency trips to the hospital. At 22.5 weeks (the same point in the pregnancy when her sister was born), I had to have what is called a Mag Wash and preparations were made for a pre-term delivery. Again, God showed His power and prevented delivery. I was able to return home for the remainder of the pregnancy. I was monitored electronically from home, and The Professor was trained in giving me shots of medication.
We made it until Christmas and then into the new year. On January 11, 2002, I went into labor and just before midnight, Puppy was born via caesarean. For all those months we prayed for her to stay safely tucked inside then she was reluctant to come out and had to be surgically removed. She has been doing things her way ever since!
I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. I Samuel 1:27
Now, here we are - Puppy's 19th birthday and the year of new beginnings. Over the course of 2020, we celebrated Puppy's high school graduation and her acceptance into the Mellon College of Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Due to Covid 19 shutting down the life to which we were accustomed, Puppy stayed at home last Fall and attended classes online.
In less than two weeks, we will fly to a city to which we have never been to move our daughter into a dorm room on the campus of a university that we have never seen in person. Two weeks from today, The Professor and I will be flying home and leaving Puppy in Pittsburgh. Trust . . . we have to trust. Over the last year, through all the uncertainties of what the future holds, God has time and time again shown us that we need to trust Him alone.
As we make preparations to fly halfway across the country to move our Puppy into the dorm for her first on-campus semester of college, God is allowing us to see His hand at work. He opened the door for her to get a room in the dorm after being told that it would not be possible for her to get a dorm room. He provided another student to take her place in the house where she had secured a room. He has blessed her with a wonderful group of friends who are looking forward to her arrival in Pittsburgh. Even though her class load this past semester was incredibly difficult, she finished strong and has a good study group in place.
As Puppy is stepping into this new chapter of her life, we are resting in the trust that God is going before her and preparing the way. Pittsburgh is not new to Him. So, today, as we celebrate the life of our girl, we are thankful not only for the blessing of her life and the gift that she is to our family, but we are also thankful for the way in which God is working in her life. We are excited to see how He uses her for His glory as she moves forward on the path He has prepared for her.
There is JOY in watching Puppy move into the next chapter of her story.
