Palm of My Hand

For anyone who may not know, I had Triplets on 4/3/08. I was sent by helicoptor from NW Arkansas to UAMS in Little Rock, AR on 3/18/08 where I was on strict hospital bed rest until I had the babies. My husband and I were blessed to have such healthy babies for being delivered as early as they were (30 1/2 weeks). At UAMS there are 3 nurseries...Critical Care CCN(for babies with the most severe issues, Intesive Care Nursery ICN (for babies who have some issues but not as severe), then the Special Care Nursery SCN (for babies who are pretty much healthy and good to go). Our babies ended up in the ICN, which meant they were doing pretty good.

Trinity was pretty much as healthy as can be. Gabriel had some breathing issues and was incubated (on a ventilator) for about 2 days, then he was fine. Asher had the most complications. His lungs colapsed twice, he was incubated for a little over a week. At one point they put him on a high speed ventilator which was very difficult to see. He also had to have a chest tube to get rid of fluid in his lungs.

While I was in Little Rock with our babies, I went to the hospital gift store. While I was checking out I found a silver bracelet at the counter next to the register. It read...

"I will hold you always in the palm of my hand." Isaiah 41:13

Of course I just had to buy it. I thought, "how perfect is this" truly a God thing that I found this bracelet. This verse became such an encouragement and also became our family life verse.

No matter how hard it was sometimes to walk into the ICN and see Asher lying their motionless (due to sedation since he was ventilated) with his chest pumping a hundred breaths a minute, I would recite this verse in my mind and would also tell it to each on of our babies. I knew that no matter what happened, that God was holding each one of my babies, not to metion my husband and I in the palm of HIS hands. What better place to be than in the hands of THE Father.

God gave us incredible strength and we looked at each thing and person in our lives as a blessing. We could have looked at all the negatives around us, we could have lost hope, but we knew that our God is strong enough to do anything. Even now, I had to quit my job, which has left my husband as the main provider and looking for a higher paying job. We could sit here and stress over finances until the cows come home, but instead we decide to remember that we serve a God of more than enough. A God of promise and a God who provides. And thus far He has kept His promises.

Jer. 17:7-8 says "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in HIM. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

I thank God that he has held my family in the palm of HIS hand. I thank Him for the strength that he has given each of us. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Our family is stronger for all that God has allowed us to go through. Each day is a blessing.