By Rebekah Fox
You have that friend that miscarried her baby. And she doesn’t know, your heart aches for her all the time.
She doesn’t see your eyes well with tears, when you think of her.
She doesn’t hear you, when you whisper a prayer for her.
“God, heal her womb.
Heal her
heart.”
Your whispers are so quiet, she can’t hear them.
But God hears.
And they matter.
***
You have that friend that can’t conceive. The one that is trying.
To smile.
To wait.
Expectantly.
And doctor’s don’t know why — she can’t. Or how long it will be.
And you think of her in her waiting. You think of her months that feel like years, and her years that feel like centuries. Because just as the Proverb says, “A hope deferred, makes the heart sick.” And you feel like if anyone on earth should have this blessing — it would be her. And she would be the most amazing mom. And if only you could give her the miracle her heart longs for — you would. But you can’t.
So you give her what you can: your whispers. Your prayers.
“God, open her womb.
Open her arms.
Open her
heart.
Please bring Your life there.”
***
You have that friend with the high-risk pregnancy. The one that has been prescribed bed rest. And you go and visit her while she is in “couch prison.” You go to make sure — she’s okay. You go to make sure that in her stillness — she doesn’t stagnate. You go to play with her toddler, and to make sure she doesn’t make her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Even though she wants to.) You go to paint her nails, and bring her flowers, and life. Because she needs it. And you know she would do the same for you. In a heartbeat.
Meanwhile, a fragile heartbeat is beating within her.
And as you drive home, you think of him, the one she is carrying. Of the tiny person, who God is forming in her. Needing her stillness and warmth.
And you let out a whisper,
“God, let this baby live.
And thrive.
And grow.”
(And months later, when you meet her baby boy, alive, and well, and with chubby cheeks and legs, you just can’t stop smiling and wiping away the tears. The answer to your whispered prayers.)
***
