The God of Miracles is Yehovah Alone (Journey through Trials)

Many have asked for more details about what happened to my daughter, Rachel, and her son, Zephaniah.  I have decided to try and type it up.  Mostly, to give all the glory and honor to our Healer and Redeemer.

My daughter Rachel was expecting her second baby.  Her first pregnancy went two weeks overdue and ended in an emergency C-section.  Rachel desired to have this second baby V-bac.  That is what it is called when you have a vaginal delivery after having a C-section delivery.   She was advised that it would most likely be 2 or three weeks overdue, since she was so overdue with her first pregnancy.  Her due date was May 31st.  So, I arrived at her home in Kansas, over 14 hours away by car, on June 1st.  As soon as I arrived, I was concerned for my daughter.  She said, she had been having back pain and discomfort for almost two months.  I prayed and prayed that she and her baby were ok, and would soon have a safe and uneventful delivery.  Day after day, I would ask her if she was ok, and if she thought she needed to seek medical attention.  She was so brave and strong.  Much stronger than I.  She was patient and just kept saying that she was told it would be a long pregnancy and delivery.  So, I encouraged her and told her how strong she was, and I supported her on her journey.  But…

I had concerns.  You see her dad, my husband, had a dream shortly after Rachel gave birth to her first baby that Rachel would die during her second delivery.  Other family members, even Kiezer, Rachel’s husband, had also had similar warnings in prayer and dreams and visions.  Being people of prayer we knew that God would hear the prayers of our hearts, and change this outcome, like he did when people prayed in the Bible.  So, we prayed and waited, and hoped, and trusted.

Finally, labor began to build, but something was still not right.  Then after days of labor coming and going, it seemed Rachel was indeed going to have a baby.  But, all of a sudden I felt a sudden need to send out a prayer text to all my prayer warriors.  I stopped everything, and I got my phone and text, “Pray NOW!”  and sent it to everyone.  I sat my phone down and stood to go towards Rachel, and as I stood Rachel raised her left hand up and said in slurred speech, “I can’t move my hand.”  Her left hand was frozen, and as she spoke, Kiezer and I both screamed, “No, no, no, she’s having a stroke.”  As Rachel fell I caught her in my lap, and held her head, as she went into a seizure.  It was the longest and hardest seizer I had ever witnessed.  As she seized she began turning blue because she was not breathing.  I prayed over her, and I shouted out loud, Yehovah God, even if you take my daughter from me I will serve you forever, but please give her back to me.”  As I was praying, I heard another voice praying in Hebrew, I heard it clearly and I understood it.  I did not realize who was speaking at the time, but I now believe there were angles in the room with us, and one of them was praying with me for life and restoration.

Rachel lives very far from any hospital or medical center.  So, after she stopped seizing I began praying that the ambulance would arrive quickly, and a miracle happened as they arrived so very quickly, and the young lady in charge quickly got Rachel and I in the ambulance and on the way to the only hospital that could preform a c-section, which was normally 45 minutes away by car.  (Another miracle was that because of Rachel’s c-section with her first baby I knew that the only hospital close enough for her to get a c-section was in Colby, the EMT did not realize this at first and was going to take Rachel to a different hospital.  But I remembered it and told them and they were able to quickly change the route and plan, and if they would have gone to the other hospital both Rachel and Baby Z would have surely died.)  Rachel had a second seizure in the ambulance, but the medical team was able to stabilize her enough to get her to the hospital.  As soon as, we arrived at the hospital the doctors and nurses assessed the situation and in less than 2 minutes had Rachel in the operating room.  As they wheeled her into surgery, they made it clear to me that they did not expect either to survive, but they would do everything to try to save them.

The doctors told me this next part of the story, because of course, I was not in the operating room.  The surgeon quickly cut open Rachel, and upon opening her found that baby Z was face up and unresponsive.  They preformed CPR for 10 minutes before breathing life back into him.  His lungs were full of poop, and his umbilical cord had almost completely dissolved.  This is caused when a baby has been in distress for days, and the mother’s water had broken days prior.  It is unknown exactly when Rachel’s water broke or how long she was actually in labor.  Baby Z was in a position that if he had been born vaginally he and Rachel would have both died instantly when she pushed him out.  Rachel had been in pain and discomfort for almost two months, but she didn’t think it was true labor because it didn’t build into that feeling to push.  She didn’t realize she was in active labor for days.  But her body knew it was time to deliver her baby, but it also knew something was wrong, so labor would start and stop, and start and stop.

After removing Baby Z from Rachel her body began to recover immediately.  Within 24 hours her left side regained almost full range of motion and her bels palsy went completely away.  Baby Z was flown by plane and a helicopter from Colby, Kansas to Denver, CO.  When he arrived there they put him “on ice” for 72 hours.  This is a relatively new treatment for stopping and reversing brain trauma/damage.  They literally lay the person on top of ice pads for 72 hours.  I don’t know if this treatment made a difference, but I do know that God did many miracles in that little boy.  They took EKG, EEG, cat scans, and MRI’s of his brain and body, and in less than ten days the doctors sent him home.  The doctors could not believe the results of test after test.  Every single test kept coming back that his brain was healthy and normal.  When people are resuscitated after being without oxygen for even a minute there is significant brain damage.  Yet, every test showed no brain damage.  NONE!

Because of the poop in his lungs, they were very weak at first.  He went home on a low dose of oxygen and now only a couple weeks later, he is completely of oxygen.  Baby Z looks like a normal, healthy baby boy.

Rachel is still recovering from her stroke, but day by day she is regaining strength, her memory, and cognitive ability.

Often we don’t know why God leads us in certain ways.  We could wonder at Jeremy’s dream about Rachel dying, or we can thank God for His mercy and compassion to prepare our hearts for such a time as this.  There are so many miracles that came out of this situations, and many more yet to come.

My mother told me that the Lord laid it on her her heart to pray for Rachel and her family weeks before this all happened, and as she was praying that the Lord told her that Baby Z is to be a prophet in the spirit of John the Baptist.  Will I sat in Denver with my first born grandson, we decided to look up scriptures about John the Baptist.  We found that when John’s father, Zechariah was told by an angel that he was to name his son, John, the angel also told him that his son would have the spirit of Elijah.  Baby Z’s actual name is Zephaniah Elijah.  Another confirmation that God alone brought baby Z back to life for His glory.  We also read the book in the Bible called Zephaniah and we discovered that this prophet proclaimed both the first and second coming of the Messiah.  What an amazing name for a special little boy.

Another miracle that happened during this whole ordeal was the amazing gift of God’s family coming together in prayer, love, and support.  I am so glad that I was able to be at my daughter’s side through the whole ordeal.  If it wasn’t for my other children and my husband, I would not have been able to leave home for almost a whole month to care for my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons.  My sisters and my mom became my support, they came in person and by phone, and through prayer.  My best friend, Anne, became my life line by phone, taking my calls at all hours of the day.  My church and many others went to the father and cried out for His mercy and grace, and for Rachel and Z’s lives.  Those prayers were answered.  Never ever under estimate the power of prayer.  God answers the prayers of the sincere of heart.

Sadly, we can so often go through these kind of tragedies and lose our faith, question God, become bitter, or angry, and even mean.  But, we have a choice to make, and that choice is do we truly believe that God is in control and desires the very best for us, no matter the cost.  You see tragedy is our opportunity to grow, learn, and become more like God intended us to be.  God is the God of ALL.  The good, the bad, and the ugly things of life are all under His authority.  He doesn’t make mistakes, and He is never caught by surprise when we make mistakes.  No, God uses our mistakes to teach us, and to bring Glory to Himself.

I often tease that I am God’s favorite.  The truth is I AM GOD’s Favorite!!!  You can be too.  All you have to do is believe it.  Being God’s favorite hasn’t made my life easy and without trial.  On the contrary, as His favorite, He disciplines me, He trains me, He tests me, He desires that I become more and more like Him.  He wants me to be the best, and He will do whatever it takes to humble me, and remove that which keeps me from meeting that goal.

I learned so much from this tragic miraculous event.  I hope that my children did too.  I pray that every lesson I learn is a lesson my children gain wisdom from as well.  May every generation be wiser and more Godly than the one before it.

Amen

Written by Katie

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