An Incredible Gift

 My mother almost died when I was born.  She was told that she had the Rh negative factor in her blood and that if she had any more children, she would die, or the child would die, or both would die.  At that time, Mom was not Catholic but Southern Baptist.  She saw nothing wrong with birth control, but my dad was not only Catholic but German Catholic.  A rule was a rule was a rule.  And my mother would do nothing to make him go against his faith.

When she became pregnant again, she told God, "If I die in childbirth, it's Your responsibility to raise these kids!"  Not only did she not die in childbirth, but she went on to have six healthy children.  She did lose one baby along the way, with much grief, and one of my sisters was a twin; the twin did not survive.

Today, I am so very grateful for my mother's faith; she did not know what to do but put the whole issue in the hands of God Himself.  And the result is an incredible gift -- all my wonderful brothers and sisters.  I cannot imagine what my life would have been without them; I cannot imagine my life today without them.

Man's wisdom is great indeed, but God's wisdom is greater, if only we can learn to tap into it. I think part of seeking wisdom is knowing that God wants to give it to us.  Numbers 24:16 says, "When he falls prostrate, his eyes are opened."  God communicates Himself to those who worship Him; He "inhabits the praise of His people (Ps. 22:3)."  C.S. Lewis says, In commanding us to praise Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him (Reflections on the Psalms, Chapter 9).

Praise in natural to us in all things except God.  We naturally praise what we love and enjoy:  Isn't it a glorious sunset?  How beautiful are the mountains!  What a gorgeous baby!  What a sweet child!  All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise.  In fact, our praise seems to complete our enjoyment. But when it comes to praising God, we find ourselves constrained.  It somehow seems artificial to praise God, as if we are embarrassed, stilted.  We do not really "enjoy" God or find Him "beautiful and worthy of praise," even if we faithfully attend so-called "worship" services.  

I think the antidote to our natural reticence to praise God is reading the Psalms, which are full of praise.  Everything is commanded to praise God :  the sun and moon, the birds of the air, the trees of the forest -- commanded to "clap their hands, for He comes!"  Once we "get into" praise, it begins to feel a little less stilted to us and we begin to enjoy it -- and we discover that God Himself enters into our praise and begins to communicate with us in our praise. 

Someone once told me: "Praise is an emotional bandage over an emotional wound that prevents infection."  I have often experienced the fact that two emotions cannot inhabit the same space in us; once we begin to thank and praise God even in our hurt, we find the wound healing and joy taking its place.  Wisdom enlightens the heart, reaching into and over-riding the mind. 

My mother had the wisdom to submit her entire life to God's wisdom and care, even in the most difficult and impossible situation.  And the result is one no one could have predicted.  How grateful I am!