Answered Prayers

This was certainly something I never wanted to sit down and talk about but here we are.

After nearly three years of avoiding it, I am, at 33 weeks pregnant, positive for COVID. Along with myself, my husband and my 3-year-old also have it. Well, not completely sure my toddler has it but he was the one who spiked a high fever first about two days before my husband and I tested positive so his doctor thinks he has it as well.

I'm quite thankful for that. He didn't really have any other symptoms other than a fever and feeling kind of tired. His appetite has not been great for a few weeks but he is still eating decently. But it seems as though he's just rolling with it and acting very normal. My husband and I are still mending but I can compare it to having a version of the flu. I'm thankful it's not been worse than that and we have been feeling better every day since testing positive.

It is extremely annoying to me how similar a COVID test is to a pregnancy test. Obviously, the collection process is a lot different, but you sit to wait for two lines to show up. One test is a great thing for two lines and one test is an awful thing for two lines. In fact, I believe the last time I was waiting for two lines to show up was when I found out I was pregnant with this little guy who will be here in about 6 weeks (or less!).

Let's just say I certainly didn't have the same response to the two-lined test result I received this time. I had started with a sore throat the evening before and woke up with one the following morning. That day specifically was a busy one. I had an OB appointment, and my mom and sister were coming to watch my son, we have also been blessed enough to hire some housekeeping help lately and they were also to come that day. I woke up paranoid as one of my best friends had just gotten sick and talked about how sore her throat was. I figured mine was allergies and I was freaked out because she had talked about being sick. But God kept nudging me to test, just in case. With my family coming, I definitely didn't want to give something to them to take back home to my papaw who is very feeble right now after some health issues. When I received the two lines on this test, it felt like my blood ran cold.

My first thought was of course for my precious boys. My husband decided to test right after I did; sure enough, he was also positive. I was so worried about how sick my three-year-old might get and what this might do to my unborn son. Turns out little people are incredibly resilient and my toddler ran a fever for two days and then was basically back to normal, perhaps a little more tired than usual. In fact, it had already run its course in him by the time I had felt sick at all, we didn't know what it was at the time. As far as my little baby goes, I obviously don't know much but I do know he's highly active which is a good sign and my OB doesn't seem concerned.

It's a funny thing how God answers prayers sometimes. I have prayed since the beginning of COVID for protection. I pray for protection every night specifically over my toddler. I pray for protection every night specifically over the rest of our household. I've done this for literally years now and here we are with COVID. Well, I think maybe an unbeliever or a very immature believer might believe God ignored my request. In fact, probably a few years ago, a very immature believer (AKA me) might have believed the same thing and marked it off as "Well, everything happens for a reason." And while yes, I do believe God allowed us after all this time to get COVID for a reason to benefit us, I do not believe that God ignored my prayers. On the contrary, He answered them in a big way.

I was terrified of this virus. I am a hypochondriac with asthma. A virus like this one was paralyzing to me. I could only think of how bad my asthma might get if I were to contract COVID. But do you know what happened when I got COVID? I never had to use my inhaler once. My oxygen level was incredible. I never even ran a fever. My husband also did super well with it all and my toddler was even better than us. I'll say for myself and my husband that yes, we were vaccinated. My son was scheduled to receive his vaccine later this month, naturally. But God blessed us. We barely knew he was even sick. This is such a huge blessing because I had no idea how he might react to it. Yes, I knew that my son was very healthy but COVID has been such an uncertain thing.

For nearly 3 years, we were protected from contracting the virus. That sounds like God answering my prayers, right? Well, then we got it. And God still answered my prayer. Sure, we had it, but God protected us from getting dangerously sick from it. Instead, we got it, we were sick for a few days and now we are on the mend and we all have antibodies we wouldn't have had before. I truly believe God allowed us to contract the virus at this time for a reason. For example, it's much better that we got it now before it was any closer to the time for our baby to be born. I believe our baby has also gained some antibodies he wouldn't have had otherwise. I believe we are all better protected now from getting seriously ill from the virus and for that, I am grateful for this extra protection for my family. I also believe God allowed us to contract the virus after all this time because the strains now are just not the same as they were before. Doctors and medical professionals now know more about treating it. I called my OB and they gave me a list of vitamins to take to help boost my immune system to fight off the virus. If there was a time to choose to get it, this was a good time to do so. All part of God's perfect plan.

I think too often we got caught up in what we want and what we think should happen. Constantly living with this idea that somehow we are in control. I heard something the other day and it was advice a father had given his daughter. I believe it was out of a recent Karen Kingsbury book I read, and the father had said accepting God's will was like getting in the car with God. God is the driver, we are the passenger. God may not take the route that we think He should. He might take some crazy roads and sharp turns. But He will always get us home at the end of the drive. Giving up our need to control things is like actively getting into that car as the passenger and letting God drive without our backseat driving.

Did I want to catch COVID? No. Especially not when I'm pregnant. Did I ever want my toddler and husband to catch COVID? No, never. I love them fiercely and never want them to get sick at all. But did we get it? Yes. Does that mean God stopped answering my prayers? Absolutely not. He simply took a route that I wasn't expecting but I trusted Him. I still trust Him. I'm not saying I'm perfect by any means, but God is strengthening my faith and helping me to take steps like this. The peace that comes from it is indescribable. I know who holds my life and the lives of my family and I know His plans are good, despite the road He takes us down.

Your will God; nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.

Until next time.