Miracles

I have a few things to catch up on, which I will post about tomorrow, but in the meantime, I wanted to share an experience we had yesterday.

I mentioned a few posts back that our bishop challenged Jeff and I to read the Book of Mormon as a couple in the few months before General Conference. He promised us that if we accomplished our goal of finishing before conference, we would see a miracle in our lives. We met our goal and yesterday, we got our miracle.

Jeff and I love to go on long bike rides every chance we get. We’ve been going on at least one every weekend since the weather has been so nice for the past several weeks. My being pregnant hasn’t slowed us down too much so far, but my belly has grown a lot bigger at a rapid pace in the past few weeks and my balance has been thrown a little out of whack as a result.

The weather was beautiful yesterday so Jeff and I filled our Camelbaks and set out on our bikes. The sunny weather had drawn a lot of people out of their houses and the paved trail along Provo River was pretty busy. We came upon a couple walking on the trail in the opposite direction. I fell back directly behind Jeff to make room, but rather than moving behind her husband, the woman squeezed closer to his side to give us room to pass. Jeff had no problem, but with my shaky balance, I was worried about clipping the woman with my bike handle. As I tried to avoid that, I got too close to the edge of the path and my bike tire went off the edge of the pavement, into the dirt. I lost my balance and fell. I tried to catch myself with my hands, but with my legs tangled up in my bike, I couldn’t hold my body up and fell on my stomach. Hitting my hand first lessened the impact and I pulled myself up off of my stomach immediately, but my belly had hit the pavement and I wasn’t sure how hard; it all happened so fast.

The couple helped me up and apologized again and again. I reassured them that it wasn’t their fault; my balance was the problem, but as soon as they left, it hit me how serious the situation might be and I started to get really worried. Jeff suggested we go home so he could give me a blessing and we started to walk back, Jeff walking both bikes and me walking next to him crying and holding my belly hoping to feel any movement. After a few yards, Jeff told me to walk my bike across the street and wait in the Macey’s parking lot while he rode back and got the car to come pick me up.

I waited there for him sitting on the ground against the wall of the building crying silently and praying for any kind of movement. The baby was completely still and I was getting more and more worried. But my wonderful husband rode back to the house in record time and was back to pick me up in the car quickly.

When we got back to the house, Jeff got ready to give me a blessing while I paced around the living room desperate for movement. I finally felt a small kick, which was such a relief, but I was still so worried about our baby’s condition.

As soon as I sat in the chair in our bedroom and Jeff put his hands on my head, I felt my Heavenly Father’s love wash over me along with my sweet husband’s. Jeff gave me a beautiful blessing and although it was hard not to still be worried, I felt so much more at peace. I’m so grateful to have a worthy and willing priesthood holder for a husband.

I tried calling my OBGYN, but the office is closed on Saturdays. Then I heard my wonderful cousin (-in-law), Tricia, who is a nurse and lives upstairs, in the laundry/storage room that we share. I asked her what I should do. She gave me a glass of orange juice and told me to drink it and then lie on my side for an hour and count any movements the baby made. If there were at least 6-10 in that hour, it would be a good sign.

I drank the juice and lay on the couch to watch Blind Side with Jeff. We both had a hand on my stomach and were so excited to feel the kicks start almost immediately. We counted ten kicks within the first 5-10 minutes and by the end of the hour, we had lost count. We were both so relieved and happy. Our little guy is most active around bedtime and last night, he was as active as he has ever been and he has honestly kicked and moved more frequently today than he ever has. He is squirming as I type. I’m still going to call the doctor tomorrow to explain everything and see if they want me to come in, just in case, but it seems our baby boy came out of the accident completely unharmed.

So we got our miracle. It could have been such a devastating experience, but our little boy was protected and I am so grateful. I already love him so much and I don’t know what I would have done if we had lost him. I am so grateful for my membership in this church and the countless blessings and miracles our family enjoys.

P.S. Jeff and I are officially done with bike rides until the baby gets here. We’ll be going on lots of walks instead.