Living Proof Live with Beth Moore is a ministry that has impacted the lives of over 1.5 million women. And each one of those women has a story. This particular story is one example of the Lord’s miraculous healing. Our prayer is that it leaves you with a renewed sense of who Jesus is and the power He holds.
In April of 2006, my husband and I were so excited to announce that we were expecting our first child. My desire to become a mom was finally coming true. You see, we were married on June 24, 2000 and prayed for a baby since the beginning of our marriage. Our little boy would be born in December with the cutest red hair and bright, beautiful blue eyes.
We looked forward to this most joyous occasion, although the journey leading to his birth was not all celebration and laughter.
Even though I was considered to have a “high-risk pregnancy” with my ulcerative colitis, everything seemed to be going normal. I experienced the weight gain “glow” and the raging hormones. I had the regular pregnancy screenings, tests, ultrasounds, and blood work. It was all going according to MY plan.
Then, we received a call from my OB/GYN in July with surprising and confusing news. “Your screening test came back, and I’m afraid there may be a problem,” the doctor said. He continued to tell me that the possibility of having a child with Down Syndrome was the highest risk he had seen in his many years as a high-risk pregnancy physician. He informed me—with confidence—that this wasn’t just a risk but that this baby I was carrying would most likely be born with Down Syndrome. The new plan was to visit his office on the following day to discuss our options.
What did he mean, “options?” I sat on my parents’ front porch sobbing and asking God why this was happening. My husband, Dwayne, wrapped his arms around me and started to cry. Our family surrounded us with love, wanting to know every detail of my conversation with the doctor and offering strength and prayers on our behalf. What was our next plan of action? Prayer. There was no other “option” but prayer.
Our phones went crazy with calls to our family, our friends, and those we had served with, including the hundreds of churches we had visited in our time of ministry. Pray! Please bring our son before the throne of God and pray for mercy. Pray for healing. Please pray.
The following day was difficult. We were seated in his office waiting to hear what “options” he wanted us to consider. The doctor entered the room and sat on the edge of his desk. He reviewed the test results with us, showing us graphs and numbers that we could not understand.
The first option he recommended was something called amniocentesis. With this type of procedure, he would remove a small amount of fluid surrounding our baby boy and look for certain types of birth defects such as Down Syndrome.
Then, he informed us of the second option: abortion. Do what? Abortion? Absolutely not! Abortion was not and never would be an “option.” Despite the fact that my Christian beliefs were dominating the decision, how could we abort this child? Down Syndrome or not, this child was God’s child and we would bring this baby into the world.
Amniocentesis was an option I would consider. Overwhelmed by the past 48 hours, I burst into tears and fell into my husband’s arms. The doctor, with tears in his eyes, left the room to give us privacy.
Should we have the amniocentesis? Could this procedure harm the baby? What would we discover? Would it change the outlook of life for this baby? If this baby had Down Syndrome, it could result in heart defects, intestinal problems, trouble learning, etc. Dwayne and I sat on our bed that night in silence. The only faint noise you could hear were our cries and whispered prayers for Jace, our son. We opened our Bible, searching for Scriptures to ease this pain, Scriptures to pray, and answers to the questions that swirled in our heads.
Then, we came across Psalm 143. This Psalm was themed as a prayer in the midst of hopelessness and depression. This prayer would fit into what we knew to be consistent with the character and promises of God.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief. (Psalm 143:1 NIV)Answer me quickly, O Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.” (Psalm 143:7-8 NIV)
Then Psalm 139, a Psalm that tells us who we are and how God created each of us to be unique and special.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16 NIV)
The next few days were difficult. My husband and I decided to study these Scriptures, digging deep and learning how to apply them to our lives and this specific situation.
Then, one word from Psalm 139 jumped from the pages of my Bible.
“For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Unfortunately I cannot knit, but was familiar with the concept. When someone is creating you a gift by knitting, they are weaving together the yarn to create a masterpiece. If you would see the yarn or the gift before it was finished, you wouldn’t be too impressed. You wouldn’t know or envision what the creator was making. It could be a scarf or gloves; it may be a sweater or baby booties. Only then, when the gift was finished and presented to you, would you know how incredible it was.
God was creating and knitting this child inside of me. He taught me that the womb was HIS territory and HE was not finished with this baby.
We declined further testing. We, including the doctors, could not change the outcome with our feeble human hands. This was God’s time, God’s baby, and God’s gift to us. God knew this little life before the beginning of time. He had us and our baby in the palm of His hands. The risk of Down syndrome was great but that meant we needed a greater miracle.
In September of 2006, Beth Moore came to Charleston, WV for a Living Proof Live event. It was amazing! God’s anointing had surrounded Beth Moore and those leading us into worship. What happened next shook our world.
During one of the sessions, Beth walked into the aisle, saw a mother holding a precious newborn baby, and asked if she could hold the child. Beth then asked those of us who were pregnant in the audience to place a hand on their stomach and to pray with her. Beth prayed a beautiful and powerful prayer of guidance, strength, love, and healing upon each child represented in that room.
This prayer was no coincidence. God was on the verge of a miracle.
With tears streaming down my face, I was positive that—in that moment—my baby had received a miracle of healing. With confidence in our Creator, I knew that our son would be perfectly healthy.
On December 13, 2006, we welcomed our son, Samuel Jace Isaacs, into this world.
God displayed His work through a miracle in the womb. Jace was perfectly healthy with no signs whatsoever of Down Syndrome. The doctor came up to my bed with tears, grabbed my hand, and said, “Your God has given you a miracle.” We worshiped God in that hospital room. We held this gift from God in our arms and thanked Him for knitting and forming our child, Samuel Jace Isaacs.
In the Bible, Hannah’s child was named Samuel because she had asked God for a child for many years. Also, Samuel is my dad’s name and would be so appropriate for the first grandson in the family. The name Jace was a name I came across in a Christian fiction book I was reading when I found out I was pregnant. That’s how our son became Samuel Jace Isaacs.
The meaning and background of his name was a surprise for us. Samuel, of course, meant “an asking of God.” But it was after his birth when we discovered that Jace meant “a healing.” Samuel Jace interpreted was “a healing asked of God.”
As I said before, there are no coincidences. “Bless The Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name!”
I must take this moment to share my heart with you. Every child is beautiful and unique regardless of any birth defects or health problems. God created their inmost being and knit them together in the womb; they are beautifully and wonderfully made. The miracle we witnessed had nothing to do with us. It happened for the sole purpose of glorifying God; to lift Him up and draw all to Him.
I almost forgot to tell you that our last name, Isaacs, means “laughter.” The stories I could tell would surely leave you laughing to tears. Our son, Samuel Jace, has kept us on our toes, and laughter is the only way to cope! His parents have “issues,” too, but that’s a whole different story!
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A MIRACLE IN THE WOMB was written by Amanda Isaacs.