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"I need 40 more winks before I face the world!
Beauty sleep is important, you know!"
"Now I'm
ready!
Hi, everyone!
I'm glad to be alive!"
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The testimony of
our Baba
by Larry & Monique Jerome
"The Lord shall
preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The
Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this
time forth and even forevermore."
Psalm 121 vs 7 &
8
Our son Joseph Nicholas Jerome, Baba, was born on April 28
2004. The story of his entry into the world is a testament to the
goodness of God.
It was towards the end of August 2003, that
we found out that we were having our first baby. We were married for
only four months and had planned to be married for at least two
years before starting to extend our family. God had planned
otherwise, especially since we prayerfully committed our family
planning into His hands.
My wife was happy when she found out
that we were pregnant but I on other hand, was simply overwhelmed.
Yet, despite our trepidation, we thanked God for choosing us
to bring forth this vessel onto the Earth and we received the news
of our pregnancy as a gift and blessing from our heavenly
Father.
Mere days afterwards, my wife started spotting blood.
The spotting increased alarmingly and we rushed her to the emergency
department of the hospital where she was diagnosed as having a
threatened miscarriage. We were devastated on hearing this news. We
were overcome with grief and confusion.
The next day we had
an ultra sound done and visited a gynecologist. The doctor was very
pessimistic about the situation and we left her office feeling that
our pregnancy was not viable. There was nothing the doctors could
do. We just had to wait and see the outcome.
I recalled
briefly entertaining thoughts that a miscarriage may not be such a
bad outcome. Should our baby be aborted naturally we could then
revert to our desires of traveling and enjoying each other's company
for at least the first two years of marriage.
I made the
decision to rebuke this thought, in the name of Jesus. Had I
continued to entertain this idea our Baba would not be with us today
because I would have given consent to Satan and his wicked plans of
death and destruction.
Whilst waiting for nature to run its
course the Lord clearly spoke to me. He said that I had two choices.
Either, I could choose to believe in the wisdom of men (in this case
the doctors) or I could rise up to be the prophet, king and priest
of my family, and declare His will in the situation. The choice was
obvious. I thanked God for this wake up call, amidst all the
negativity. We prayed:
"Father we thank You for the life
that You have created in Monique's womb.
We declare that this
life is a living person whom You have known before the foundations
of the world.
Lord we love this child, we want this child and we
receive this child.
We command every spirit of death and every
spirit of abortion to back off from this child,
we bind you in
the mighty name of Jesus.
Amen."
Even though my wife
continued to spot to the end of the first trimester, we did not
succumb to the defeatist mood; instead as each day went by we grew
in our faith.
We changed doctors during the first trimester
and by the end of the first trimester our new doctor told us that
the pregnancy was viable. God had intervened and preserved our baby.
We thanked and praised Him.
The second trimester was most
enjoyable and without complications. We even visited New Jersey for
one week in the winter season to shop for our baby. We had a
wonderful time.
However, it was in the 35th week of pregnancy
that my wife observed that she was oozing fluid. After examination
by the doctor she was admitted to the hospital.
Had her bag
broken, labor would have been induced and our baby would have been
born pre-maturely. He would have had to spend his first week of life
separated from us in an incubator. We told the Lord that this would
not be the ideal way for our baby to come into this world. We
declared that our baby shall go to a full term and be born in His
timing.
After the tests and observations were completed
there were no signs that the water bag had broken. The doctor
informed us that it may have been a pinhole leak that would have
healed itself. Praise the Lord.
A few days before the
expected due date of our baby (May 1 2004), my wife began to
experience severe but typical symptoms of pregnancy. She had painful
constipation and difficulty in urinating.
We called the
doctor who advised us to check into the hospital, yet again, for
possible delivery. The date was April 28, 2004. The tests revealed
that all was well with the baby. However, we were given the option
to induce labor since the baby was already estimated to be big and
was continuing to grow. We opted to induce labour.
My wife's
water bag was broken and she was given medication to bring on the
contractions. However, after 6 hours of intense contractions the
dilation had not progressed beyond 2cm.
In addition, in one of
her discharges after the water bag had broken, meconium (the baby's
first stool) was found.
This was not a good sign, the baby
was in distress. If we left him in his mother's womb for too long
there was an increased risk of him dying by asphyxiation. We
consented to an emergency C- section.
During the surgery, it
was discovered that the baby was jammed against his mother's body
and therefore he could not move. His head was facing up instead of
in the normal downward position. Hence the reason the dilation had
not progressed.
During this ordeal we prayed. Our pastors
and our close brethren were also interceding for us throughout. God
intervened and he preserved our son's life yet again. Isn't He
wonderful? God truly answers prayers.
Interestingly, mere
weeks into the first trimester, my wife was reading the book of
Genesis. One night she told me that the Lord instructed her to name
our child Joseph- which means God has added. From then, we believed
that we were having a boy. An ultra sound done a few months later
confirmed our beliefs.
We know that God has a plan for
Joseph. The enemy attempted to steal his life on many occasions. We
are honored that God has called us to nurture, disciple and mentor
His chosen vessel. We plan to do this in a prayerful partnership
with Him.
My wife and I have a personal relationship with our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By believing in Him we know that we
have received His grace; the gift of salvation. We continue to put
our trust and faith in Him. He has preserved our Baba- Joseph
Nicholas Jerome and we give to Him our heartfelt thanks.
To
God be the
glory.
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