Our Privilege Of Love

OUR PRIVILEGE OF LOVE

by Francis and Maggie Ong

“You will need to be warded immediately as your baby is showing signs of distress from hydrops. We will need to do an emergency delivery either today or tomorrow.”

This is not what you want to hear from your gynecologist when you are 32 weeks pregnant at your regular checkup. How ironic that it was as we had planned to discuss our birth plans with the gynecologist. Yet it was not the first unexpected twist in the journey of our pregnancy. At 12 weeks the baby had some soft markers for Down’s Syndrome. We prayed that the markers will go away, but at 20 weeks they were still seen. An amniocentesis was strongly recommended, but we didn’t want to risk a miscarriage and we weren’t terminating the pregnancy even if the test was conclusive as there were no structural issues.

We prayed and decided to enjoy the pregnancy, trusting God. The picture of a healthy Down’s baby didn’t seem too bad, and there was always a possibility of a miracle if He wills it. But now, we found ourselves facing the possibility of God claiming back the baby we had waited so long to have. It helped that Frankelites were upholding us in prayer and presence. Yet our hearts were still heavy with anxiety. We brought our tortured emotions to God, praying Psalm 86 and 121, reassuring the baby.

After a Cesarean was done, the doctors told us Isaiah’s vital signs were good. We felt so relieved, yet a little sad Down Syndrome was confirmed. Just when we thought the worst was over, another bombshell came. Suspected perforations in Isaiah’s intestines led to a recommendation for immediate surgery. He had to be moved to another hospital to do it, all of two days old. It almost felt like the first relief was merely setting us up for the next torture. Even the doctor who brought us the news cried. To summarize, the surgery went well. After clocking 41 days in the hospital, baby Isaiah is back with us and enjoys coming to church on Sundays. Our gynecologist upon seeing him after he was discharged, said the outcome was as good as what we could hope for. Praise God!

What we learnt through this continuing journey: 1. God is always good and in charge, but we won’t always understand what He’s doing.

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation.” - Habbakuk 1:5-6a.

That was God’s answer to Habbakuk’s complaint on Judah’s sinfulness, bringing violence. We wouldn’t have wished for what happened but we don’t have to understand it to know God is doing His wondrous work.

2. Pain is the price we pay for the privilege of love in this imperfect world.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:10-11.

Watching our son suffer is painful, there is no other way to describe it. The more we love him the more painful it is. But before we are tempted to shout injustice at God, a look at the Cross reminds us that greater pain was suffered by His Son and God Himself. It may sound counter-intuitive but this experience gave us a better appreciation of God’s love. Isaiah is God’s creation and gift to us. There have been many twists in this bittersweet journey, but we take each step trusting God to light our path.

Little Isaiah

But before we are tempted to shout injustice at God, a look at the Cross reminds us that greater pain was suffered by His Son and God Himself.