Ethan Taught




	------------------------------------------------------------ WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed Write 2 The Heart January 31, 2001 volume 1 Issue #3 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ------------------------------------------------------------ By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of "WRITE 2 THE HEART". ------------------------------------------------------------ SPONSORSHIP NOTICE ------------------------------------------------------------ For a FREE personalized health analysis profile, visit Teraforma Health, Inc. http://teraformahealth.com/tfh/56094.html Your personal profile results will be shown immediately along with appropriate nutritional recommendations. While there, check out our line of supplements. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Lesson Ethan Taught by: Rose Wade-Shambach ------------------------------------------------------------ Today someone just found out that they are pregnant. For many that single event is an absolute answer to prayer and a miracle from God long awaited. To others, the timing and circumstances are less than perfect and can produce conflict and fear to the person who is faced with the awesome responsibility of another life. Two things are for certain, babies bring change and they bring hope with them. I should know. My youngest child Ethan was sent from heaven at a time in my life when I needed hope the most. The realization that I was faced with an unplanned pregnancy was about as welcome to me as a stiff neck at a tennis match. The issue wasn't so much a matter of wanting him, but of bad timing. My marriage was in its death throes at the time and I had just turned forty. I already had five other children to feed and clothe with a perpetual scarcity of money. Nevertheless, miracles arrive at the oddest times and are seldom recognized as such. I'll be the first to admit it. When it came time to tell everyone the news of our newest addition, I was reluctant and downright embarrassed. By the time you announce your sixth pregnancy to your family and friends, the congratulations you receive over your fruitfulness are as thin as ice on a pond in late March. It wasn't just the embarrassment of my being pregnant and forty years old. It wasn't merely my crumbling marriage or the lack of sufficient means that made me reluctant to have any more children, (although any of those reasons would have been justifiable enough). I was purely and simply terrified to have another child. What terrified me the most was the fact that my oncologist had told me that I should never risk having another baby since my last pregnancy had been a molar pregnancy that had turned cancerous. The cancer in my uterus had been arrested through five rounds of chemo, but I was told that my chances of another molar pregnancy were much higher if I were to conceive again. I breathed a huge sigh of relief the day I saw for myself that the small blip on the ultrasound screen resembling a lima bean with a tiny beating heart was in reality my little baby boy. I think I started loving him right then and there. It would be wonderful to say that from that point on things were easier. There were what seemed to be hundreds of other hurdles yet to overcome. Yet the truth is, God always seems to make a way where there is no way especially when it comes to taking care of one of his little ones. I was in trouble. I had long since given away all my baby things. Then my morning sickness became the all day "yuckies" that stayed throughout the rest of my pregnancy. I could only work part time. Even so, I found out how good people can be when you are pedaling against the wind. The women in the real estate office where I worked rallied and threw a huge shower for me. I received almost everything I would need for the first two years of Ethan's life. My husband walked on us a month before Ethan arrived, and although he managed to show up for the difficult birth, things would never be the same between us. Divorce followed after two years of vicious custody battles. Sometimes I feared that because of all the tears I cried while Ethan was tucked inside me that he would be a solemn little guy unable to show emotion. Nothing could be farther from the truth. How could anyone adequately describe this little guy? It would be easier to find a parking place at the mall the day before Christmas! He has had constant bouts with asthma since he was born, but in spite of being sick so much, he remains a happy little fellow who loves to entertain us. He has a serious speech problem where he substitutes over 19 sounds. This requires constant translations from his brothers and sisters. That seems to work out to his advantage too because now he is the baby of twelve children in our new family. (Six children are from my previous marriage and six are from my new husband's). We laughingly refer to our new family as the Brady Bunch times two! Ethan's step-Dad and I are aware of what people must think when they see us with the "tribe". Ethan looks more like our grandchild than our own. Let them think what they will. Ethan has managed in his short life to teach us many things. By far, the most important thing he has taught me is that when it comes to babies and the joy and hope they bring, there are no mistakes. Rose Wade-Schambach schwadeton @ yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------ John and Rose and their small "tribe" live in Georgia and love the life they have together. Sometimes life turns a corner we least expect. It certainly has for them when they decided to combine their two large families, but they have never for one minute regretted it! ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ Opportunity To Serve The Lord By: Pat Bode ------------------------------------------------------------ The Lord reaches out in a mysterious way And He's coming to you to ask you to pray. Opportunity is knocking at your door, Asking you to reach out and pour, Pour out the blessings He has given to you. It's time to reach out and touch the few. Opportunity to serve the Lord is here. It's time to reach out and share my dear, Share what God has blessed you with. It could be anything in the form of a gift. Help lift someone out of the pits of despair, Helping them by just being there. It does not matter what the gift is, As long as you know that it once was his. Everything we receive comes from the Lord. It's time to give what has been stored. Storing up is OK, Until it's time to give it away. Opportunity to serve the Lord again, Time to reach out and be a friend. Pat Bode ----------------------------------------------------------- Pat Bode is a single mom with a daughter. During a difficult time in her life she picked up a pencil and to her surprise,out came poetry! In all her talents, she gives thanks and praise to the Lord who sustains her. ------------------------------------------------------------ From our Readers: ------------------------------------------------------------ I'm glad you sent me the story; it was great! Yes, those ladies are really touching lives with the Lord's help. Val I REALLY LIKED YOUR STORY June ------------------------------------------------------------ Have an inspiring, heart-touching story for our readers? Submit to: moderator@write2theheart.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ CLASSIFIED ADS ------------------------------------------------------------ Visit TeraForma Health, Inc. http://teraformahealth.com/tfh/56094.html for a FREE personalized body typing. Discover which foods and exercise programs are right for your body type. ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2001 Write 2 The Heart